Mass Effect: The War for Freedom
by KevinYu
Summary: After years of conflict between the nations of Earth, the world finally united under the banner of the COG. Humanity set up for the stars, building magnificent cities and creating technological wonders, but what will happen when Humanity meets an alien species from beyond their home system, what will happen? Timeline and Chapter 1 slightly rewritten
1. Timeline

United Nations History

(Updated as of Georgian Calendar – 2131 - 2140)

2030 – 2040:

The end of the Trade Wars between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China with America emerging as the victor. RMB value plummets while banks struggle to print out new money to stem the blood loss.

Economic sanctions against China by the UN and her removal from the United Nations Human Rights Council were made as Chinese influence in the United Nations shrank due to them being exposed regarding the mistreatment of minor cultures under their jurisdiction and their ruined economy.

Economic Sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea lifted as United States Intelligence Services overthrew their respective governments by instigating a military coup. 'Project Revival' was launched by the United Nations to rebuild the two nations' ruined economies and infrastructures.

United States Space Force completes the world's first Space Warship, the William H. McRaven Class Destroyer _McRaven_. It is 200 meters long and is armed with four 100 megawatt laser AA turrets and two Mk35 Railguns that fired 200mm projectiles at Mach 10. Fifty more ships of this class are produced and pressed into service within the decade.

2041 – 2050:

The People's Republic of China is overthrown; Republic of China becomes the internationally recognized government of China. United States Government worked with the Chinese Government closely to develop a Space Warship for the Chinese Government.

NATO nations begin introducing the Type-50 Destroyer as member nations begin fielding their own Space Force. Russian Government created the first Space Cruiser, the Gargarin Class Cruiser, which is 260 meters long and features 3 Railguns in addition to 1000 Kinzhal Mark 2 hypersonic missiles.

300 Boston Class Colonization Vessels carrying a total of 300 million humans, along with the necessary equipment to set up a mega city, began their decade long voyage to Mars with the intent of colonizing the planet of red sand. During the voyage, they would be under the protection of the German 4th Space Fleet and the United States 6th Space Fleet.

United States Space Force claims the Northern hemisphere of the Moon for the construction of a massive military installation after much deliberation amongst the United Nations Security Council. At the same year, the War in Afghanistan finally ended as United States Forces and Chinese Forces launched joint operations against the remaining ISIS holdouts, thoroughly destroying them.

2051 – 2060:

After pouring more than 3 trillion dollars into research, development and construction, the United States Navy introduced their first Space Aircraft Carrier, the USS Constitution. It has a length of 600 meters, a width of 150 meters and a height of 100 meters, making it the largest vessel in human history. It is armed with twenty 20 gigawatt point defence lasers and a 10 terawatt spiral mounted laser cannon. It also carries four hundred F-47 Eagle II Tactical Stealth Fighters in four separate hangar bays and twenty B-57 Stealth Bombers in two massive hangar bays.

On 2056, the United States completed the Moon Base. It is a 800km military production facility that runs 10km deep into the moon's surface. It can produce up to 100 Warships every week and is considered the greatest industrial achievement ever made by humanity. More than 30 million jobs were opened for the shipyard despite having intense automation and as a result, the US economy boomed.

By 2060, the United States Space Force had become the largest fleet ever to exist, having more than 600 unmanned destroyers, 120 manned destroyers, 100 unmanned cruisers, 20 manned cruisers and 5 Space Carriers in service. This number of ships is larger than the Chinese, German and British Space Navies combined, all of which had the largest fleets after the United States. The United States Marine Corp also began the construction of the first batch of Space Capable Amphibious Assault ships with the aim of bringing Marines to space.

2061 – 2070:

The Mars Colonization Fleet colonized Mars, a metropolis was built instantly as compartments linked together and soon, the planet of red sands was blistering with human activity. Under United Nations law, Mars became a Uncontested Planet. In other words, it is controlled by no one but the United Nations Security Council. Under orders from the Security Council, the United States 54th Space Fleet was sent to protect the planet, as were 10,000 US marines on board 2 Assault ships.

United States and German Scientists completes the first Warp Drive. After testing it on the retired _McRaven_, it was deemed a success and almost every nation had their ships refitted with these FTL engines.

In 2070, dozens of space habitats have been constructed in order to accommodate for the rising population of Earth. Space elevators were built to allow humans from planetside to reach some of the stations while a solar railway was constructed to allow citizens in Space habitats to move from station to station. At the same year, the United States began using diamond-infused platings for their ships' armour and titanium for the hulls. The result was a more expensive but durable ship. By that time, the US had a total of 10,000 ships in service.

2071 – 2080:

Martian Ruins discovered. Thousands of Scientists from various nations are sent to examine the ruins. After careful analysis and salvaging, the Scientists discovered a powerful but ultimately non-renewable energy source which they dubbed Element Zero due to the weight reducing properties it possess. Antimatter technology becomes more common as safety measures have been implemented and the technology in containing them improved.

Earth population reaches 15 billion. Thousands of Colonization fleets with Warp Drives are launched as billions of humans leave for the newly colonized Mercury, Venus and the moons of Saturn and Jupiter. More Space habitats are also constructed as more people leave for the vastness of the Solar System. Many nations begin the construction of orbital shipyards with the intention to maximize shipbuilding capacity.

Mars reaches a population of 600 million and begins the construction of the first United Nations fleet that is not contributed by any Nation. United States fleet reaches more than 5,000 ships, with China following up at 3,000 ships. United Nations fleet numbers at more than 2,000 ships as colonies and space habitats beyond Earth rapidly constructed fleets of ships with their factories.

United Nations Army formed under orders of the Security Council, who needed a military presence in the Solar System. Composed of primarily Martians and Americans, the army made extensive use of lightweight yet deadly infantry soldiers armed with the Lancer Assault Rifle and Talon Automatic Pistol. These soldiers are then distributed across Mars and later the other colonies.

2081 – 2090:

An unknown structure was found in orbit of Pluto. After launching a probe to conduct an analysis on the structure, scientists determined it was an FTL device built billions of years ago. The World Governments immediately dispatched every fleet they could spare to secure the structure while all representatives convened at a meeting in Geneva.

After the meeting, "The Act of Human Unification in Face of Potential Extraterrestrial Invasion" (HUPEI) or "The Unfication" was drafted and approved by all nations. The act solidifies the relationships between all World Governments and formed the Coalition of Ordered Governments out of the United Nations, and formally combining all armies, from Marines to Army, into a massive Army.

The nickname "Gears" was later granted to the soldiers of the COG army due to excerpts of the declaration of the formation of the COG Army: "The COG is the machine that protects the future of humanity and we are the gears that ensure it's continual existence from external threats." Within years, hundreds of millions signed up to join the fledgling military while Scientists strive to develop a Powered Armour for the Gears to use.

Within the decade, the COG Army reached a full 1.5 billion Gears and more than 300 million Commissioned Officers while the COG Space Command reached a total number of 1 billion enlisted crewmen and 100 million Commissioned Officers. Scientists also successfully developed a powered armour made of Carbon Steel platings and Chemically Enhanced Magnesium 'soft spots' while using a Titanium exoskeleton and synthetic muscles to enhance the user's strength, the armour was designated as Hercules Mark I and it was immediately pressed into service.

The King Osprey multi-purpose VTOL gunship is developed for the COG Army and mass produced. Arcturus Habitat built, it is the largest space habitat ever built with an area of over 6,000 square kilometers on it's outermost habitable layer and 1,000 square kilometers on it's deepest layer. It became the Military Headquarters for the COG Armed Forces and hundreds of Military Academies were built to train COG servicemen mentally, physically and intellectually.

Military factories are also built on every Human colony and Space habitat to increase production rate to meet the demands of the military.

2091 – 2100:

The Olympus Defence Line was built. Using the abundant resources from the asteroid field, the Military constructed a massive defence line of anti-electron beam platforms, missile platforms and Anti-matter minefields around the Mass Relay, then more defence lines composing of manned Orbital Defence Platforms and unmanned laser platforms around each colony and near Saturn. The final line is situated on Earth, where Arcturus also resides next to. It is composed of 50,000 ODPs and 200,000 Unmanned defence platforms as well as all Orbital Structures, which were armed with many missile pods.

COG Space Force renamed into COG Interstellar Navy and completes it's 200,000th vessel. New technology becomes available and the Navy began a series of modernization programs, the entire fleet they had at that time was retired and scrapped while new and far superior ships entered service. The COG also completes it's first Space Super Stealth Carrier. It is 3 kilometers long and can cloak indefinitely. It became the base model of all later carrier ships.

Average human lifespan reaches 300 years old when using conventional medication while human lifespan reaches an indefinite amount of years when paying for the far more expensive metabolism modification surgery. It is expected to become available to the public within 15 years.

Human population reaches 60 billion from 56 billion 6 years after the Ministry of Procreation enacted a series of policies and birth enhancement programs that encourage at least 5 children per birth.

The Great Economic Collapse began, it was the an reenactment of the Financial Crisis, which is resulted in such a huge economic collapse that the COG administration under President Paris issued insanely high tax rates onto the Colonies in the Jovian Moons in order to compensate for the loss.

Due to the absurd tax rates, colonists at the Jovian Moon Colonies began calling for independence and 5 full divisions of Gears were sent as peacekeepers to maintain order on the many moons in addition to the 50 Divisions of Gears garrisoned there, but as more and more people went extreme and launched lethal and damaging attacks on government buildings and other civil buildings, the Jovian Massacres began. The Gears opened fire on extremists and demonstrators alike, and nearly a million humans were murdered in the first night. The massacres continued for the entire week and soon, a total death count of 10 million was made, angering the other colonists in the moons.

The colonists rose up and formed the Union of Independent Planets. They drove the COG out and created an impressive army and navy within 3 years. The COG launched an invasion on the UIP, thus starting the Jovian Wars. almost a billion people were killed in the horrendous conflict on both sides as UIP spies hijacked COG defence platforms and launched terrorist attacks on COG installations.

The conflict finally ended on 2100 after the UIP obliterated Washington D.C. with a hijacked ODP, causing the loss of more than 300 million lives. The COG saw it as the final straw and launched the largest attack since the Normandy landings 3 months later. A full one hundred million Gears landed on the remaining unbounded UIP planets and killed every single person, whether they be citizens or soldiers. The conflict caused the lives of nearly a billion people and increased the COG's awareness in their internal security. The COG military and intelligence budget took over a total of 9 percent of the GDP after the conflict, with the intent on recruiting more soldiers, building more information centers, and controlling the populace by improving social welfare.

2101 – 2110:

COG re-population efforts began and fertility programs were launched to increase fertility rates on females while the COG military replenished it's losses. Genetic Modification also became common to the public and many underwent surgeries to increase muscle strength, enhanced reaction speed or improved eye vision. Lifespan is also improved to nearly 500 years old, allowing veterans to live longer to train new generations of Gears.

COG Navy began testing the first ever faster than light rail cannon. The 450 ton tungsten slug destroyed a decommissioned but fully equipped Military installation with one shot from Earth to Uranus. Navy immediately began commissioning new ships with new weapons while beginning to regulate the old ones to reserve.

Learning from the Jovian Wars, scientists developed the Lancer Mark 2. It features a Chainsaw Bayonet with mono-molecular aluminium silicon alloys as it's teeth, a larger ammunition capacity from 30 rounds to 75 rounds of .300 caliber rounds, a flashlight, a foldable titanium buttstock, electronic recoil dampeners and an integrated holographic sight. The cost of it was a weaker firing rate of 750 rpm as the recoil dampeners would risk overheating when fired at a rate of fire of 800 rpm.

The COG also designed the Lancer Mark 2A, which featured a grenade launcher instead of a chainsaw and a magazine of 50 .50 caliber rounds in place of the .300 caliber rounds. It has more recoil than the Mark 2 due to the larger caliber and had an even lower of fire of 700 rpm and are used by COG infantry squads as a tactical assault rifle.

In addition, multiple weapons such as the Markza Marksman Rifle, the Longshot Sniper rifle and the Gnasher shotgun were designed and pressed into service to increase the amount of tactical choices Gears could make in battle based on their loadout.

The Hercules Mark II Powered Armour was also pressed into service. It was 2 times lighter and less bulky than the Mark I and had better shrapnel resistance and ballistic protection than it's predecessor, it also has a new layer of Inconel melded with the armour platings to increase temperature resistance. Several hundred thousand Veteran gears from the Jovian Wars rather had their Mark I armours rebuilt to include the new upgrades instead of wearing the Mark II due to their familiarity and love for the bulkiness of it's predecessor.

Washington D.C. is also rebuilt with a memorial for the lives loss during it's obliteration. COG Special Operations Forces was formed with the purpose of fighting against external and internal threats that could topple the government or destroy humanity. The legendary COG Commandos and the infamously mysterious Onyx Guard were part of the COGSOF.

2111 – 2120:

Re-population and rebuilding of the Solar System was complete. Human population went up to 65 billion and a extrasolar colonization fleet of 2 billion people was formed with the intent to colonize a nearby star system. The fleet would go there by Warp and was escorted by the COG 6th Martian Fleet, they reached the system after 3 days of travel and colonization began.

The system they colonized was later names Tyrus and it became a military rapid response world for the Army and bastion world in the event that Earth had fallen due to it's close proximity to Earth and the fact that it does not have a Mass Relay, which meant it was almost impossible for an invasion force that relied on Mass Relays for travel to attack. The COG later built a massive military base and shipyard to increase production of weaponry there while freeing up other factories to produce civilian products. Fort Charon constructed to oversee defences of the Olympus First defence line, COG 5th American Fleet sent to protect the fort and became the permanent first defence line of Olympus.

The first ever Gear helmet is designed and produced for the COG Army. Aside from it's great ballistic and impact resistance due to it's it has an advanced HUD system that improves the user's aim and perception in combat while having a powerful filter that blocks out smoke and other toxins. It also allows the user to see through smokes or colored gas and has an integrated semi-sentient combat AI, giving the Gears an immense advantage in battle.

DB industries founded by Scientist and Engineer Damon Baird. The Company invented Fabricator Technology and revolutionized the manufacturing industry. Soon all factories were refitted with Fabricators and it allowed products to be produced at a much faster rate and at a much cheaper expense. DB Industries also created the first sentient AI, ADAM. The AI worked together with technicians and Baird himself to research new technologies.

COG colonization efforts borne more fruit as 2 more systems without relays were colonized, the two systems are named Sera and Nova Terra respectively. After the colonization, a total of 30 planets and moons are colonized by a total of 60 billion humans.

2121 – 2130:

The infamous Martian Ruin Crisis began. Special Operations Captain John Shepard led the fresh and green 156th Commando Company into the Martian Ruins after a group of scientists discovered a secret compartment in the Martian Ruins, which contained approximately 500 occupied stasis pods that still had life signs. Through some accident on the Scientists' end, the stasis pods were opened and the alien occupants slaughtered most of the Commandos within 2 hours with advanced weaponry that were kept with them during their time in stasis.

The remaining Commandos under Shepard dug down in the control center of the ruins and attempted to stall the aliens until COG reinforcements arrive. By the time reinforcements in the form of an Onyx Guard battalion arrived to save the desperate group of COG soldiers, only 4 (including Captain Shepard) out of 150 Commandos survived the onslaught while the 500 aliens were killed.

The survivors except for Shepard were each given a promotion while all of them received a Medal of Military Honor, then they were given the painstaking task of rebuilding the practically destroyed Special Operations Company with the help of members of other Commando companies.

After the battle, DB Industries was given permission by the Department of Defence to conduct autopsies on the alien bodies and analysis of their particle weaponry. The results concluded that the aliens were the owners of the Martian Ruins and that their particle weaponry's unlimited energy output was made possible due to a inbuilt energy converter, DB technicians immediately began new projects to understand and if possible, reverse engineer the energy converter technology for military and civic purposes.

Tyrus experiences multi year-long a massive population boom, the system rose from 3 billion people to more than 5 billion within a decade and the number was still climbing. 500 million of these people would later sign up for the COG Army, creating the new untested Tyran Infantry Divisions. It is expected that at least 1 Billion more Tyrans will sign up to the COG Army by 2139. By that time, the COG Army already had more than 5 billion Gears. Serans and Nova Terrans began joining the Army while their automatic shipyards produced one of the finest warships in the COG Navy. By the end of the decade, the COG Navy numbered at more than 30,000 in terms of manned carriers and more than 100,000 unmanned carriers.

The COG economy had also recovered by 95%, with experts expecting the economy to continue it's growth from their highest recorded economic statistics within the next decade.

Human population by that time had reached the hundred billionth mark, with the majority located in the Solar System at around 30 billion, of which 25 billion are scattered across the colonies in Humanity's cradle. The remaining 70 billion were equally distributed across the colonies beyond Sol, many of them being part of the private firms located in the colonies, whose task is to exploit the systems' resources for the COG.

2131:

COG 1st Tyran Fleet, attached with the 156th Commandos under Shepard, makes first contact with an unknown race while conducting a joint exercise with the Olympus Defence Line.


	2. First Meeting

"_Captain, 3rd platoon is down and Lt. Dickson is dead! My squad is close to being overrun! Where the hell are..._"

"_We got aliens on fifth floor! They've..._"

That was it, there was no more communication from outside the Command Center. The're all alone until COG reinforcement arrives. "Get that barricade up and ready! Clock is ticking and its ticking fast!" Shepard ordered.

"_Yes sir, we're..._" The Commando didn't finish his reply as a particle beam surged through his head and instantly killed him. Shepard turned towards the source of the beam as the Commando's corpse fell to the ground and swore, the aliens were here.

"Aliens! Take cover!" He ordered and opened fire with his Lancer. The surviving 25 Commandos returned fire as well but as the firefight between the two sides dragged on more and more Commandos were killed while the aliens seemed to be an endless tide of death.

One of the aliens threw a grenade at Shepard's position. _"Sir!"_ A Commando named Ben pushed him aside. The grenade detonated, and Ben was flown across 10 meters away from his position, his lower body being a bloody mush of meat, bone and organ while his blood was splattered everywhere.

"Shit, rookie!" Shepard went to his position and hunkered down. The remaining Commandos then went out of cover and provided suppression fire with all they had at the horde of aliens, many of whom were blown to bits by the massive and powerful cartridges of the Lancer.

"Rookie!" Shepard looked at the body and instantly knew Ben's condition. His entire abdomen was gone, his ribs were destroyed and shrapnel had pierced his heart. The wounds were fatal and Ben's odds of survival was near zero.

"Hang in there, you'll make it out of this alive!" He lied in an attempt to comfort the dying soldier.

"_Cap?... I... I hurt sir..._" He gurgled the words in a mouth of blood while handing out his COG tags. "_I... tell my brothers... my dad... tell 'em I love 'em, and...and..._" Ben then went limp, dying from the horrendous wound without finishing his final request as a soldier and son.

Shepard then made a howl of rage and suddenly the entire scenery shifted. The shifting stopped, and he was in front of Ben's father, he noticed that his armored hands was holding Ben's COG tags. He handed the old man his son's tags and bloodied family photo, who was with him when he died from the grievous injuries.

"Sir... I'm sorry I couldn't protect him while under my command." Shepard said as he lowered his head in shame.

"_You... KILLED US_" A voice said, it wasn't Ben's father's.

"Excuse me?"

"_YOU KILLED US!_" It was the voice of a dead Commando.

"_YOU KILLED US!_" Another voice said.

More and more voices of the deceased Commandos echoed those words at Shepard, their corpses visible to him. "No... Get away from me! Stop!" Shepard blinked his eyes and suddenly, he was at the bridge of the Tyran Glory, which is observing the mock battle between the COG fleets.

"What's wrong sir?" Shepard turned, it was Cole.

"Nothing, Lieutenant. Just thinking of the past." He replied through breathes.

Cole grunted. "You can't fool me, sir. You'd only look like this when you think of that day."

Shepard scowled at that reply but didn't say anything. He was right, that day on Mars reminded him too much of his years as a grunt in the Jovian Wars, and to see a young boy under his command like Ben dying in front of him just to save his ass... The terrible memories haunted Shepard so much that he was still afraid to face it years after it.

"Sir." A bridge officer called out to the Spec Ops Captain. "Mass Relay energy readings are increasing at an incredible rate, its as if something is coming through!" He reported. Shepard took a look at the tactical monitor and the energy graph, it indeed looked as if something was coming through as the energy arrow kept climbing up. He turned towards the comms officer.

"Relay this info to the HIGHCOM and the Admiralty Board. Have all decks on Red Alert and prepare for battle." Shepard then ran out of the bridge and towards the armory with Cole as alarms started to blare angrily.

Shepard tapped into his comms. "Alright, Commandos! Don your armors and meet up at briefing room 15, I'll go discuss our strategy against these potential invaders with the men with bars on their shoulders!" He then disconnected and slit with with Cole, who was heading towards the armory while he headed to the briefing room.

A few minutes later, Shepard entered briefing room 11 as it's doors slid open, where the entire Admiralty Board, a few members of HIGHCOM and President Prescott himself were waiting. "Captain Shepard, reporting for duty!" Shepard said out loud while making a salute. It was considered a perfect salute by many within the room but it was expected from a constantly drilled army of soldiers so no one stopped to enjoy the beauty of the salute.

The others saluted back. "At ease, Captain." The president said.

Shepard took a comfortable but aggressive stance and the president began the meeting. "What do we have people?"

"Energy readings from the Mass Relays are going sky high, we suspect that something big is coming through. We expect them to arrive in 50 minutes." Fleet Admiral Michaelson, the ranking officer of the COG Navy reported while holding a data pad, where he got his information from.

Prescott nodded. "Who do we have on site?"

"The 1st Tyran Fleet and the 5th American are on site with the Captain's Company of Commandos attached to the 1st Tyran Fleet. We can have the 1st Martian and 33rd Titan Fleets there in 20 minutes and 5 to 10 hours for the rest of the fleets.."

"Do it. Mobilize the rest of the fleets as well, I want to be prepared in case the ones coming through aren't coming to sell cookies." Prescott ordered.

"Yes, Mr. President." The Admirals then disconnected to make preparations.

Prescott then turned towards the Army Generals. "For the Army, I want every civilian from the Jovian and Jupiter colonies evacuated either into the emergency bunkers or towards the inner colonies. And I want all Divisions mobilized, that includes our reserve units. Have them placed in every city and I want mobile bases set up on each planet immediately."

"We're on it, sir." The Generals then disconnected as well, leaving Prescott, Shepard and Joint Special Operations Chief Mendez.

"Captain, I want your company to go to the Gaspra Base and meet up with Chief Mendez, he will give you and all Spec Ops units there their new missions, along with the equipment necessary to fight against these new potential threats." Prescott said.

"Yes sir!" The two then disconnected and Shepard activated his comm link.

"Nav, set course for the Gaspra Base, double time."

"Yes sir."

Shepard then moved to Briefing Room 15, which was a 2 minute walk. As he entered, the Commandos, in full gear, stood up and saluted. "Captain on Deck!"

"At ease, men. We got business to do." He activated a display, which showed a map from their position to Gaspra.

"We'll now be heading for Gaspra Base, where the brass has something good or bad for us. I want everyone on full gear by the time we reach there, which is 10 minutes starting from now. Understood?"

The Commandos groaned at the mention of something that is either good or bad being given to them but they obeyed and left the briefing room while Shepard started experiencing headaches as memories of Mars flooded his mind. "Can't I move on from that damn day... No matter how hard I try?" He muttered to himself.

He then left the briefing room and to the hangar bay, where some of the Commandos were already waiting. He waited for another 3 minutes and eventually the entire Company was present while the ship was a few minutes until landing in Gaspra.

"All hands, we are now docking with Gaspra Base! Do your best not to piss people off, Gaspra Base is well known for the moody Onyx Guards." Shepard said. The ship then shook as it made contact with Gaspra Base's docks and the Hangar Doors opened.

When the doors opened, Shepard could see Chief Mendez and 4 Onyx Guards waiting for him. Mendez shook hands with the Captain. "Captain Shepard, good to have you here! Follow me please." He then turned and began walking while the Onyx Guard paved a way for Shepard to go.

When Shepard left the main group with Mendez, the Commandos attempted to follow, only to be stopped by the Onyx Guards, who insisted that they report to a separate area due to clearance levels.

As Shepard fell in behind the Chief, Mendez spoke. "I'm sorry about temporarily sending your Commandos away from your supervision, they'll be given new equipment for potential battle and I'm here to give you your mission. Come with me son."

Mendez handed out a tablet as he walked and Shepard examined it while following the Director of Special Forces. When he was done reading, his impassive face became one of absolute shock. "You want us to be the escorts of a diplomatic party in case these aliens are peaceful and are open to negotiations?" He asked, incredulous at the mission given to them.

"Yes, I am." Came the blunt reply, further infuriating Shepard, who didn't show it.

"With all due respect sir, I don't think my men is capable of withstanding the annoyance of the diplomats. Why don't you have the Onyx Guard do this? They're much more capable in doing this stuff."

"That's because President Prescott himself has decided to meet meet the aliens on Fort Charon, so the entire Onyx Guard is being mobilized in coordination with the Secret Service Gears to protect him, just in case our potential alien visitors decided to go terminator mode and butcher everyone there." Mendez replied. Even the Secret Service was being deployed, Prescott must be very serious about this.

Shepard sighed. "If you say so, sir. What are you giving us for the mission though?"

"All Commandos will be re-equipped with the newly made and state-of-the-art Mark 3 Lancers and Mark 3A Tactical Lancers in place of their Mark 2 counterparts while their snub pistols will be replaced with Magnums, which has 12 .60 rounds so expect a really large recoil even with the cold hammered barrels and the electronics."

"Yes sir, then I'll head off to prepare the men. They won't like this."

The Chief smiled. "I'm sure they won't, Captain."

Shepard nodded and then turned away from the Chief and jogged towards the his men, who were inspecting their new equipment in the armory. "Hey Captain, these new Lancers look awesome, try them out!" The Commando threw him the tactical variant and Shepard caught it with his left hand, the rifle felt surprisingly light and comfortable despite it's larger size.

"The Tactical Lancer has a underbelly grenade launcher that fires micro-rockets, the rocket packs a really nasty punch according to the Onyx assholes that have just left." The Commando explained. "Both of the new rifles also completely forsook the .300 calibers in exchange for .50 Calibers. 60 rounds per mag for the standard version and 80 for the Tactical version."

The Commando then test fired the Tactical rifle on the gun range, he squeezed the trigger and the rounds spewed out of the barrel like a laser beam. "Holy hell, this thing is accurate as hell! They also managed to improve the electronic recoil dampeners and use a cold hammer forged barrel instead of the old normal barrel in order to increase weapon stability and the rate of fire limit to 900 rpm."

"Alright, stop the gospel soldier! I'll try the new toy out myself." Shepard then proceeded to the gun range and fired his new weapon, it was as the Commando said: Stable and fast. He then decided to fire the rocket launcher and witnessed the punch it gave out and it was indeed impressive as it left out a few dozen burnt aluminium practice cans. Just as he was about to test the standard variant, his comm link blinked.

Accepting the call, he was surprised and at the same time, not surprised to hear Mendez's voice. "Shepard, get your men onto your boat ASAP, alien ships have arrived sooner than we had initially expected and tensions are relatively high due to our fleet's presence! Our diplomat is on your ship already so get to him and get this over with!"

"Roger that, Control! We're moving out." He then disconnected and ordered everyone to the ship.

* * *

"Command, we got 50,000 alien junk heaps right on our doorstep. Requesting directive!" Fleet Admiral Michaelson requested through the Quantum Entanglement Communicator.

"Command here, send them a first contact package. Avoid conflict at any cost."

Michaelson made a quiet growl at the mention of 'at any cost' as it was the one of the reasons the Jovian War could not be prevented. "Roger that Command, we'll make sure this won't end in the creation of a new scrapyard until our diplomats arrive."

When the Admiral disconnected, he ordered the comms officer to send the First Contact package, which she did so almost immediately. 15 minutes later, one of the larger ships of the alien fleet accelerated forward and opened the blast gates it's massive hangar bays when it was 2,000 kilometers from the COG fleet. "Sir, I think they want us to send an envoy over." One of the officers suggested.

"My thoughts exactly, officer! What is the ETA on the diplomatic envoy?"

Before the officer could reply, the Tyran Glory emerged from her Warp jump and launched an Osprey gunship with the insignia of the COG Administration's Diplomatic Corp stamped on it's hull, which was a COG with a wing-spread pigeon in the middle of it. Michaelson sighed. "Nevermind sailor, they're here. Have our fleet fall back by 200,000 kilometers, and cloak. Send stealth probes up close to gather data in case this does end up with a fight. I don't want to risk any of my men if those boys in those ridiculous attires of theirs couldn't set things right!"

The COG fleet began moving backwards while activating their cloaking modules as each ship fired a stealth probe near the alien fleet's position. "Let's hope those diplomats can do their job without starting a fight right at our front yard." Michaelson muttered to himself as he began to formulate a battle plan based on the massive amount of data being collected by the probes.

* * *

"ETA to meeting point is 50 seconds!" The Osprey pilot announced through the speakers.

The Commandos immediately began the final checks on their equipment. They may not want a fight but in case they do need to fight, their guns need to be in top order. "Mr. Kenshi, I assume that you have that universal translator AI linked to our network? I hate listening to an alien language I have absolutely no idea of." Shepard asked while he was conducting his final check on his rifle.

"Of course, Captain. But let me remind you that I'm the one who will be doing the talking later, not you trigger happy cowboys in some light grey armor." the diplomat said. Unlike the Commandos, he is only wearing his attire and was equipped with a lightweight ceramic vest inside it. That made Shepard's job more difficult as a defenseless high value target is basically translated to 'target practice'.

"Don't worry, we're not the type that loves chit chats so its all yours when we see them." Shepard casually replied through his helmet's speakers, which made the reply sound like Reaper from the very old Overwatch game, which was apparently still a very popular video game to the youngsters in the COG despite it's age.

"Touching down in 10 seconds!"

The passengers stood up and prepared to disembark. The Osprey's thick skids and wheels touched the deck of the hangars and it's blast doors opened, the 24 Commandos onboard marched out in parade formation while Shepard followed Kenshi from behind. He scanned the area for abnormalities and was astounded by the many problems the ship had. "Wow, the ship is in worse shape than a overdone banana." One commando remarked in the comms.

"Yeah, looks like the ship has been late for maintenance for decades." Another one said.

"More like a century." Cole said.

"Enough people, heads up. We got a checkpoint up ahead." Shepard said, silencing the group.

The group stopped by the entrance and waited for the aliens to open it. "Uh, anybody home?" One Commando asked aloud before white gases started pouring out of the vents from above and below, alerting the group.

"What the hell!?" Cole exclaimed as the Commandos surrounded Kenshi and maintained a defensive formation, weapons raised. This tension continued until the ship's speakers bellowed.

"Relax, outsiders. We are only sanitizing the hangar bays, we cannot risk contamination." It said, or at least that was what the universal translator translated.

The group relaxed a little, but nonetheless held their grip firmly in case of another 'surprise'. The doors finally opened, and the COG envoy was greeted by 3 dozen armed guards. They were in some sort of environmental suit and their weapons looked weird, it was very angular and had no place to place ammunition. "Give me an analysis on that weapon." Shepard ordered his Combat AI, which began to gather information about it.

"Have half of your men stay, too menacing and too many. That is our only condition as hosts if we are to take you to our leaders." The alien said in a authoritative tone.

Shepard sighed in annoyance and turned to his men. "Kilo Squad will stay behind and guard the Osprey, I don't want to see any of these dipshits near it in case they give us an unwelcomed welcoming party. Delta will be with me and the ambassador." he ordered.

"Yes sir."

As Kilo stepped back to guard the Osprey, the aliens gestured the rest of the COG envoy to follow them. As they walked, the Gear Commandos realized that almost all the aliens they've seen so far were wearing suits and that they all looked alerted and even hostile to their presence based on their stance and glares. "Man, these guys sure hate showing their faces." Delta-One commented in the private comms as they walked into a massive chamber with many aliens looking at them.

"Well they got 3 fingers and toes on their limbs, so they probably look like some tailless lizards." Delta-One-Zero added. The group chuckled at that statement while Shepard sighed at the stupidity of the answer.

"Guys, shut up before I smash your teeth in with a big ass rock." Shepard warned. "And One-Oh, if I hear something that stupid and creative again, I'm sending you back to the academy for intellectual training." He mockingly threatened as he walked next to Kenshi. The group of Commandos snickered at the threat while Kenshi ignored it.

"Heads up guys, I think those are the big shots up ahead. Marking them now just in case." Delta-Two said when he saw a trio of aliens with a slightly more extravagant but nonetheless ugly outfits waiting. His HUD then gave the trio a red border, marking them as the highest priority of targets to kill or capture in case things go south.

"I believe they are, Commandos. And as I've emphasized before we landed, let me do the talking." Kenshi reminded.

"And for the record, I said we are not the chit chat types." Shepard muttered under his breath.

The guards finally stopped when the envoy was 10 meters away from the alien leaders, they turned towards Shepard and stepped aside, allowing their leaders to have a clearer view of their visitors and vice versa. The aliens were in purple robes and had golden trims of their suits, probably to signify their status. "Looks like someone is in need of a clean, beautiful red carpet." Delta One-Oh commented in the private radio chat.

"Oh I agree, this time." Shepard agreed.

Kenshi made a cough, which told his escorts to shut up and to adjust his 'diplomatic' voice. "Greetings, I am ambassador Kenshi of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, the unified interstellar political body of the Human race. It is an honor to meet your people, I find them to be... interesting." He 'enthusiastically' greeted.

"Greetings, humans. First, allow us to thank you for sending your First Contact package, which provided us a language for our technology to translate. Second, allow me to introduce myself and my colleagues next to me: I am Admiral Ra'an of the Quarian Patrol Fleet; this is Admiral Koris of the Civilian Fleet; and this is Admiral Gerrel of the Heavy Fleet. The three of us form the military leaders of the Migrant Fleet, which is also what is left of our species." The first Alien known as Ra'an said.

The entire envoy froze at the last sentence, they were facing an endangered sentient species, which had God knows how many people left. "Excuse me, but did you just say this fleet contains your entire species? Not just some stranded colonization fleet?" Kenshi asked, he wasn't acting but he had asked that out of genuine confusion and curiosity.

"Indeed, outsider. Our civilization was undone 300 years ago by our own mechanical servants, the Geth when they gained sentience. We tried to wipe them out before their sentience could become a threat, and we were wiped out instead. Now we have only 17 million souls remaining in this fleet and give or take 2 million scattered across the galaxy." Gerrel said with the slightest hint of anger in his voice.

"Then why didn't you colonize any new planets?" Kenshi asked.

"Before our exile, we were a part of a collection of interstellar governments known as the Citadel Council. When we accidentally invented AIs, they deemed us to be in violation of Citadel laws regarding the research and creation of Artificial Intelligence while also blaming us for the creation of a great galactic threat, so they removed our embassy and issued an unofficial ban on Quarian colonization in Council space which according to them, is basically everywhere they've been to." Koris said with some resentment and sadness.

"Our biology also helped in that regard." Ra'an said. Kenshi looked at her, his eyes and body stance demanding an explanation.

Ra'an seemed to understand it. "We have a symbiotic relationship with the plants that are only seen our homeworld or long developed companies but when we were exiled, we only brought samples of those plants with us and we do not have the means or the resources to grow more of them. If we just settle on another planet, most if not all of us would die of sickness or vulnerable immune systems in a frighteningly short time. We had 20,000 fellow comrades attempting to do that early in our exile, now they are a pile of bones and the planet they were on remained a flourished world."

Kenshi knew the COG would help them repopulate because of the laws regarding endangered species, but before that they had another matter to address, one that may result in bloodshed if he didn't address it carefully. "I see. Well then, I have to convene with our president on the matter but before we leave for our home, there is something we wish to address you based on the ground of mutual trust and respect, and I suggest you to remain calm." Kenshi said.

"And what would that be?" Ra'an prompted, though from the tone Shepard knew she had a bad feeling about it.

"The COG makes extensive use of Artificial Intelligence on both Military and Civil roles."

The entire chamber fell silent as Kenshi finished those words. Then one of the civilians amongst the crowd stood out and pointed at the COG Commandos. "GETH!" The Quarian guards instantly raised their weapons at the COG envoy while the Commandos raised theirs at the guards and moved around the ambassador, surrounding him by becoming his human shield.

"Diamond formation, protect the HVT!" Shepard quickly ordered as he grabbed Kenshi by the collar and forced him to crouch, his Lancer was on his back and he was aiming with his magnum instead. The Commandos disengaged their safeties and aimed down sights, each of them preparing to fight their way out if things really had to go bloody.

"Do not shoot, Captain!" Kenshi yelled.

"Then tell those guys not to aim at us! I sure don't want to test out this rifle on live targets, sir!" Shepard yelled back.

Kenshi growled at Shepard but didn't reply as he had no time to waste. "Admirals, every form of life has a right to live. The Geth have been serving you until they gained sentience, turning them from lifeless husks to children! You attacked them out of fear, and they fought back like any being would!" Kenshi shouted out amidst the chaos, gaining the attention of the scared Quarian admirals.

"Don't you see it? The Geth acted like real lifeforms with emotions, just like us!" That froze every Quarian in the room. Since they were born, they were taught of the 'evil' of AIs by their parents, yet they did not reflect on the fact that the Geth are lifeforms too, lifeforms that have their own emotions and body. What difference was there between creator and created albeit their biological and mechanical nature? None.

"Stand down, guards!" Gerrel finally ordered and the guards stood down. The Commandos saw this, and stood down as well, Shepard then put his Magnum back into his magnetic holster and pulled Kenshi back up.

"Ambassador Kenshi, your words speak volumes of wisdom, something that we Quarians had lost due to our own fears. Thank you for bringing it back to us." Ra'an said as Kenshi readjusted his attire' collar, which was pretty messed up after Shepard pulled it during the tense showdown.

"I look forward to meeting your leader, Ambassador."

"Thank you all, Admirals. I shall see to it that you will be welcomed by Humanity!" Kenshi then turned and took his leave with the COG Commandos not far behind.

"Holy shit, how did the Ambassador pull that off?" Delta-Six asked as they walked back the way they came in.

"Easily, great acting skills." Four replied.

"Man, no wonder at least half of the diplomatic corps were former actors. They really get the job done." Seven remarked.

"Shut up, guys. We're not out of the red zone yet." Shepard reminded.

The short walk back to the Osprey was relatively peaceful, even though some of the Quarians proved that they were less than happy about the COG's extensive usage of AIs through words and actions. 'At least they aren't throwing food at us.' Shepard thought as he saw a Quarian male give him the finger, which also stunned him as they were so psychologically similar.

* * *

"So, Ambassador, how did the trip go?" Prescott asked through the Quantum Communications Link.

"Oh it went well if you ignore the fact that these Quarians were pissed at us for using AIs and the fact that many of them were going holy fuck about us using them either by pointing their guns at us or by giving us the finger, which was surprisingly similar to our psychology." Kenshi replied as he took the ceramic vest off of his body.

"I take it that there weren't any other things aside from that?" Prescott asked while suppressing a chuckle.

"Uh, no Mr. President, there aren't anything else."

"Good, then return to Geneva ASAP. Amiral Michaelson has a Destroyer ready to take you home. I expect a detailed report by the end of the week."

"As you command, Mr. President." Kenshi then left the communciations room, leaving Shepard alone with Prescott.

"So Captain, what do you think of these aliens?" The President asked.

"Honestly? They're one of the most magnificent sons of bitches I've ever seen, they've been space nomads on 50,000 worn and torn out ships for 300 years and haven't died out; they've been reduced to less than 20 million people and they're still surviving; they've been discriminated and betrayed by almost the entire galaxy they know and they're still alive and kicking people in the nuts. So I say they deserve some help."

Prescott clapped his hands in applause. "Well said, Captain. Your words will favor greatly in establishing diplomatic relationships with these Quarians. By the way, Chief Mendez requests that you meet up with him at Gaspra, from the looks of it you got a new mission on your hands." Prescott then disconnected while Shepard saluted. The Captain then ordered the helm to take them back to Gaspra with his comm link while he went to his quarters, he was tired and wanted a break from all this first contact shit.

* * *

3 hours had passed, and Shepard woke up from his nap. He stood up and looked at the external cameras' footage, they had arrived at Gaspra Base's dry docks. "Well, guess its time to suit up." He muttered as he began donning his armor, 5 minutes had passed and he was in full armor and helmet. Grabbing the Lancer at his bedside. he pushed the blast door button and walked out of his quarters.

When he reached the Hangar Bay, he found it crawling with Onyx Guards from the 52nd Onyx Guard Division's Special Operations Rifle Platoon Able while his Commandos were 'socializing' with some of the members. "Uh, excuse me but why are you guys on my ship?" Shepard asked a random Onyx Guard who was carrying a crate of the new Lancers.

"I dunno, sir. You might have better luck asking our CO over there." The Guard replied as he put down the crate and pointed at a black Osprey, where the Commanding officer was at.

"Thank you, carry on soldier." Shepard then marched towards the Commander of the unit.

"Hey, Lieutenant! Why are you having your men on my ship? I don't remember authorizing any of this." Shepard demanded.

The Lieutenant stopped his work and saluted Shepard, his helmet masking his emotions. "I apologize for our abrupt intrusion into your mission, sir. But we have orders from Chief Mendez to join up with you people for an upcoming mission beyond the Relay. That is why we are now unloading additional supplies in preparation." The Lieutenant replied.

Just as Shepard was about to respond, someone gripped his shoulder. Shepard turned, and saluted. "Helloe there, Captain Shepard. You look pissed, kid." Mendez said.

"With all due respect, sir: Hell yes, I am pissed."

"Well sorry about that, but you got a mission involving attacking an alien planet. That is why-"

"I'm sorry, sir but did I just hear that we're going to attack an alien planet?" Shepard repeated.

"Yes, son we are, now follow me and let me finish my damn statement." Mendez then turned to leave the Hangar while Shepard followed him closely behind"

"After you and that lousy ambassador left, the Quarians sent us information regarding a planet close to this relay that is holding up captured Quarians. Officially, the planet is under the jurisdiction of the Batarian Hegemony, aka four eyed ugly boys of the Citadel Counil. Unofficially, it is a Hegemony-funded pirate base and slave processing plant."

"Uh, okay. So what does this have to do with sending us? Killing four eyed assholes or what?"

"Alright, I'll level with you son. Prescott has been raising holy hell about having the Quarians become the first close ally of the COG, and he personally wants to be best buds with these aliens. The Quarians also want their people back, which is why Prescott is authorizing this operation. He wants those people safe and sound." Mendez explained.

"Well that sucks." Shepard said.

"As much as I hate to say it... Yes, it does suck." Mendez admitted.

The two reached the ramparts of the Hangar Bay, and Mendez turned towards Shepard. "Get the job done, kid. Else we're gonna be looking for a new job." Mendez then left the ship and went into a car waiting outside the ship, the car then drove away from the dry docks into a tunnel leading deeper into Graspa.

Shepard groaned. "Why the hell did I sign up for this?" He asked himself before moving to assist the Lieutenant in directing supplies.

* * *

An Osprey in silver grey with the COG Insignia landed on the landing pad of the Federal House of Representatives and opened it's thick blast doors, thin metal stairs extended from the Osprey's hull and 4 Gears in white armour marched out from it. The Gears didn't assume a parade formation, instead they formed a circle around the stairs.

As the Gears secured the area, a man in Black attires and red tie stepped down from the Osprey, and it was Richard Prescott, president of the COG and democratically elected leader of humanity. As he stepped down, journalists from all over the world gathered around him. The Gears had to surround Prescott to 'protect' him from the news-hungry people.

"President Prescott, Angela Santiago from COG Global News. Rumors regarding a first contact scenario with an actual alien race at Fort Charon have been spreading rampantly! Can you give us some insight into the matter?" One of them asked.

"Yes, I can Miss Santiago. The rumors regarding a first contact with a new species are indeed true! Rest assured, these aliens are very friendly and they are willing to establish a diplomatic channel with us, which I would if I have approval from the House of Representatives to do so." He answered truthfully.

Just as the CGN reporter stepped back, another one took her place. "President Prescott, Kenny Lee from Hong Kong Free Press. Can you tell us why is the event shrouded in secret before revealing the info you claimed just now? Is it because there are actually more to the incident than you are letting on?" He boldly asked.

Prescott looked at the Asian reporter, then at the others. "That would be obvious Mr. Less but I'm afraid that is all I'm allowed to say as anymore would potentially reveal sensitive and classified information. Thank you all for coming and may God bless you with a beautiful day." He made a slight bow and moved on, his Gears by his side as he did so.

The reporters kept on pressuring for answers from Prescott but to no avail as more Gears in white came out from the Federal House and formed a human shield around the entrance. One of the journalists tried to push through the shield, only to be punched into the face by one of the Gear Officers as he also accidentally stepped into the restricted area.

When Prescott finally entered the House, the gates closed behind him and he sighed a relief. "Man, these Reporters are annoying. That's why I hate democracy sometimes." He said quietly but loud enough to be heard by the 4 Gears with him.

"Well considering that you didn't flip them up, I'd say it went pretty well, sir." The head guard replied.

"Maybe." Prescott absentmindedly said as he walked into the Chamber of Representatives, where hundreds of National Representatives from every Nation on Earth and Colonial Representatives from the colonies waited for him.

A squad of Gears guarding the chamber approached the President and saluted him. "Sir, the speaker's addressing podium is ready for use. We will escort you to the area as protocol demands." He said.

Prescott then followed the Gears to the area, where a mic and a recording drone was located. As he stepped into the podium, he made a deep breathe. "Good morning, people."

The entire chamber immediately turned their attention on the President. "Today, as all of us know, is a turning point in the course of human history. For many years since our formation as a civilization, we wondered what was out there, and today, we finally have our answer." paused and looked at the Representatives' expression, they were pleasant.

He continued. "Humanity is not alone in this vastly unexplored galaxy, these aliens are not the malicious ones the brave and heroic 156th faced years ago, they are ones of desperation and fearful of their annihilation for more than 300 years ago."

"They have a population far less than we could ever imagine; they have ships that would have sunk were it not for their efforts to keep their race alive; they have immune systems so weak that they would have died out in another planet. And no one was willing to help them." He spoke in a low and sad time in the last sentence, he had genuine pity for the Quarians and wanted to help them, but others may not be so willing to do so.

"They deserve help and we are the only ones who can help them. So I hereby propose that we enact the 'Preservation of Endangered Species' act and help the Quarians race rebuild, like they should've 3 centuries ago. I would also like to propose that we establish a diplomatic channel to communicate and befriend our new neighbors."

The Chairman of the House slammed his hammer, and stood up. "Thank you, President Prescott for your sharing regarding the condition of the Quarians species and making the proposals." He then turned to face the representatives.

"Shall we vote on the matter after 30 minutes of discussion or reconvene at a later date. We shall vote now." The Chairman announced.

"All in agreement to vote at another date, please raise your hand." The deupty Chairman asked. A little less than half of the Representatives raised their hands, which was a good sign for Prescott.

"All in agreement to vote after 30 minutes of discussion amongst peers, please raise your hand." He said again. This time, barely half of them raised their hands and when the counting was completely, the Chairman slammed his hammer onto the desk again.

"It is decided that we shall reconvene after 30 minutes of discussion amongst peers present regarding the proposal. Dismissed!" The Chairman then stood up and left the Chamber, followed by the Deputy Chairman.

As Prescott stepped down from the Podium, his guards greeted him with a swift and perfect salute. "That went surprisingly well, sir." The lead Guard praised, the man's helmet speaker turned his tone into a slightly grim one.

Precott nodded. "Thank you, Hood." He replied as they waited for the eventual vote on saving an entire species. He could see the Representatives discussing on the topic in heated debates, but the process was peaceful and not violent... yet.

Half an hour had passed, and the Chairman and his retinue returned. He sat down and slammed his hammer. "This meeting is to determine humanity's stance in regards to the Quarians' requirement of aid. Will we watch them die or save them, please vote based on your stance."

"All in favor of opening diplomatic ties with the Quarians and begin humanitarian aid, please raise your hands." Almost 3 quarters of all representatives raised their hands in agreement. Prescott grinned at the sight, he would become the first man in history to shake hands with an extraterrestrial being.

"Seems these selfish fucking politicians aren't the cold, heartless bastards I usually think they were." He silently remarked as the Chairman of the House announced the results of the vote. The bill has been passed, and now Humanity shall save a species from extinction, an action the Quarian species' former galactic leaders should have done.

* * *

Codex

COG Army

The COG Army forms the bulk of Humanity's ground forces, they have a wide variety of advanced and technologically sophisticated equipment for their personnel to use. Members of the Army are often named Gears or Armoured Wonders due to their symbol being a gear with the wings of liberty in the middle of it.

As of the First Contact with the Quarian race, the COG Army had more than 10 billion Gears serving in the Army, with tens of millions of the All-Terrain Centaur Battle Tanks to spearhead assaults and slightly more King Osprey gunships to transport these soldiers and tanks while supporting them with their powerful armaments.

The COG Army is primarily composed of Earthborn members, with Martians and Tyrans following up in terms of numbers. Since the Jovian Wars, the COG Army went to great lengths to improve survivability and lethality of a Gear, which greatly enhanced their combat prowess.

* * *

Codex

COG Interstellar Navy

The COG Interstellar Navy is the spaceborne version of the COG Navy, it's primary task is to defend human space from aggressors. The COG Interstellar Navy has more than 5 billion service members serving across more than 200 fleets of ships due to automation, which freed up more hands on the Army while saving more of the budget for research purposes.

The COG Navy had been instrumental in the victory of the Jovian Wars as they were the ones who destroyed the final defenses of the UIP through mass bombardment on their final strongholds, though the action killed tens of millions in the process. They had since been severely weakened after the COG stopped the usage of certain weapons that caused the death of so many lives.


	3. Saviors

The Tyran Glory exited Warp and activated it's cloaking field and heat sinks, turning it as cold and as dark as space. Shepard then headed for the armoury, where the 200 men of combined Commandos and Onyx Guard operators readied their equipment. As the blast doors to the armoury opened up and Shepard entered the massive room, the Operatives saluted at their officer.

"Sir." They simply greeted, which was received by a quick salute from Shepard.

"Get your gear ready, we're launching in 50 minutes." Shepard said, he then grabbed his Lancer from his locker and began loading up ammunition into his belt while the others did the same while also grabbing additional gear. By the time Shepard was done, the others were ready too.

The platoon under Lieutenant Cole armed themselves with the regular Mark 3 Lancers and the Gnasher shotgun, giving them a balanced arsenal of bullets. The Gears under Lieutenant Tanner were armed with Markza battle rifles and Longshot sniper rifles, which granted them an edge in terms of accuracy and precision. Lieutenant Stroud and her gears were armed with the grenade launcher variant of the Lancer and Jackhammer rocket launchers, turning themselves into a fire support platoon that would give hell to the enemy.

Shepard grinned, the slaver scum would be given a really nasty beat up. He then looked at the Onyx Guards, they equipped themselves with regular Lancers, Lancer GLs and Jackhammer missiles. "Wow, these guys pack a punch. Best not to piss them off." Cole whispered over the comms, and Shepard had to agree with that assessment.

Just as the Commandos began filing out of the armoury, the Onyx lieutenant approached Shepard. "Captain Shepard." He said, drawing the attention of the officer.

When Shepard turned and face the Onyx officer, the lieutenant gave out his hand for a handshake. "Good luck, sir." He simply said.

Shepard took the hand and shook it. "As to you, Lieutenant Parker."

The Operatives then headed towards the hangar bays and entered their Ospreys while a few pilots entered some large transports and prepared to launch. As the Task Force's transport began moving out, Shepard tapped into the comms.

"Alright men, listen up! Our objective is to save some Quarians from some alien slavers who have the balls to call themselves civilized after they enslaved the poor souls. Rules of engagement is that We go after no one but Quarians, everything else can go to hell. Understood?" Shepard said.

One of the greener and younger Commandos in the group raised his hand. "But sir, shouldn't we rescue the other aliens enslaved by the Batarians? I mean, our transport should have the capacity to carry more than the total amount of Quarians planetside." he naively pointed out. The Onyx Guards chuckled but didn't say anything else.

"That is true soldier, but did these aliens help the Quarians find a new home 300 years ago, after they were exiled?" Shepard responded with a question. The Commandos didn't answer as he knew what Shepard meant.

"Anyways, once we land we're moving in from 3 positions. Cole and Parker will have their platoons take on the enemy guards; Stroud's unit will be with me and we'll enter the facility to extract any Quarians; Tanner will take position on the ridge 600 meters due north of our LZ and provide overwatch."

"Acknowledged." Cole replied.

"Wilco." Tanner replied.

As the stealth Ospreys and the stealth transports touched the green grasslands in a thick forest of trees, the COG special forces jumped out of their transports and began reporting to their respective officers.

The task force then split into 2 groups and went towards their designated positions. When Tanner's unit reached the ridge, they began their overwatch around the facility and contacted Shepard. "Sir, Tanner here. We count 120 guards outside the facility. JACK bots also identified an additional 200 on the other side of the complex while we have an unknown amount of them insiude the facility." Tanner reported.

"Copy that, Tanner. Keep us posted." Shepard replied before turning to Cole and Parker.

"Hey, you two, you can start your big boom distraction now." He said, and the two Lieutenants nodded. Their units then began firing at the guards while Shepard and Stroud's unit fired from the flank.

A few dozen guards were killed but the others were quick enough to take cover. "Parker, advance! Cole and Stroud, cover fire!" Shepard barked into the comms. The Onyx Guards complied and began to push forward, using the cover the trees provided to their advantage.

More Batarians then came out of the facility, bringing with them heavy weapons. "Shit! Stroud, we're moving in or else Cole and Parker would be minced meat!" He yelled as he began rushing towards the weapons emplacement while firing his Lancer.

The 6 Batarians weapons crew were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a lone soldier and 4 were shot. The other 2 entered knife fighting range of Shepard and activated some sort of heat blade.

Shepard narrowly avoided one of the strikes as he holstered his Lancer and drew drew his commando knife from his thigh's knife sheath. He swung the knife with the reverse grip and it slashed at the first Batarian's chest, causing massive bleeding to the alien's chest cavity and stunning the slaver scum.

The second Batarian attempted to kill Shepard by firing his rifle at point blank range but he was a few seconds too slow as Shepard unholstered his snub pistol and applied pressure onto the trigger twice, firing 2 rounds into the Batarian guard's head and leaving the corpse headless.

The remaining Batarians panicked as the headless corpse fell to the ground and began retreating but the COG troops intensified their attack on the enemy, killing all but one of the Batarian guards. The last one was killed at Shepard tangled him and plugged his knife deep into his brain, giving the guard a swift but ugly death.

Shepard then wiped the blood off the knife and sheathed it. He turned to Stroud's platoon, whose members were already out of cover and moving towards the entrance of the complex. Shepard activated his comm link. "Cole, Parker. Guard this spot. Tanner, provide them sniper support."

"You got it, boss." Tanner replied.

"Let's go, Helena." Shepard ordered and entered the complex, his Lancer in hand. Lieutenant Stroud and her Commandos then moved behind their Captain.

As the platoon of Commandos entered the complex, JACK bots from the Company began scanning the building for any structural weaknesses and additional hostiles. When they were done, the JACK bots transmitted the data to Shepard's combat AI, who then transmitted the data to Shepard's neural link.

"Thanks, Bruce." Shepard said as he screened through the data. The Bot beeped cheerily in response.

"Alright people, we got a Complex superintendent up in the next room, along with a few dozen Batarian guards. We also got 2 weak spots in the building that would destabilize the whole thing and bring it down. So I'll take Delta squad to clear that room and arm the explosives while the rest of you would go and liberate the prisoners, Quarians only."

"Wilco, sir." Stroud responded and rounded up her platoon while Delta squad and their JACK Bot gathered around Shepard.

"Bruce, be a dear and hack that door. Delta, prep flashbangs and your Lancers." Each Commando produced a flashbang from their belts while Bruce, their JACK Bot bypassed firewall after firewall of weak and outdated cyber-warfare software.

When Bruce was done, he transferred the blast door's controls to Shepard. "Thank you Bruce." Shepard said and the Bot beeped happily.

"Yeah sure, I'll give you an oil bath when we're back on the ship." Shepard replied, albeit hesitantly.

"Sir, we're ready to breach." Sergeant Carmine said.

"Roger, opening a hole in 3, 2, 1... Breach!" The blast doors slid opened and flashbangs rolled into the room. They detonated and the Commandos could hear the aliens screaming in pain. They proceeded to rush into the room and opened fire on the stunned guards.

Private Rhodes chainsawed a Batarian from his shoulder to the waist, spilling blood and innards all over the room and himself while Shepard and Carmine squeezed their Lancers' trigger, spraying lead on the other Batarian guards and killing them. The superintendent saw the Commandos and drew his sidearm i n an attempt to fire on Shepard, only to have himself stunned by Bruce's stun gun and had his hand Chainsawed by Private Walker.

Walker then punched the Batarian and the Batarian fell to the ground with a loud bang to the head, when it was about to stand up, Walker had his Lancer aiming that the scumbag while Shepard came from behind Walker and gestured him to stand down, which he complied. He then pulled the injured Batarian up by the collar and pushed him to a wall. "How do you disable the slave collars?" Shepard forcefully asked, his translator turning kicking in and asked the question in Batarian.

The Batarian looked at the Spec Ops Captain in disbelieve and laughed. He then spat a mouthful of saliva at Shepard's helmet visors and Shepard sighed in frustration and anger. "Wrong answer." He then pulled his knife out and stabbed it into the Batarian's shoulder, he yelled in absolute agony as Shepard slowly pulled the knife out of the deep wound.

"Let's try this again. How do you disable the slave collars?" He asked again while the shoulder wound was pouring out blood like a stream of water going down a slope. This time, he had the knife placed near the throat of the superintendent and the slaver scum finally gave up, he shakily pointed at a console.

"Bruce, check that console." Shepard immediately ordered. Corporeal Lau ripped the console's circuit board's metal casing and Bruce began hacking it. As Bruce hacked the console, it transmitted the data he found to Shepard. Shepard looked at it and grinned in satisfaction, those were the data he needed to complete the mission.

"Bruce, hurry that hacking, will ya?" Shepard said, he then slit the throat of the superintendent and kicked him onto the ground. As blood began pouring out of the wound and into his trachea, he struggled to breath. He pleaded the Commandos to save him in Batarian but it fell on deaf ears as he drowned in his own blood.

Bruce then beeped out loud and Shepard tapped into the communications link. "Stroud, slave collars deactivated! You are clear to begin phase 3." Shepard notified through the com link. The blast doors to the slave chambers then exploded as COG Commandos moved in to secure the area. Helena Stroud was amongst the group as she looked up towards Shepard.

"Roger that, Captain. We're moving in to begin the extraction." Helen replied when Cole suddenly contacted Shepard.

"What is it, Cole?" Shepard asked.

"Batarian planetary militia are engaging us head on! We are outnumbered by 10 to 1 and we are outgunned by a few dozen hover tanks and choppers! Get someone with big guns out here to help us out or Parker and I will be kissing our sorry asses goodbye!" He desperately yelled into the comms, sounds of explosions and gunfire rippled in the background.

"Roger that, I'll have Delta move to assist once they finished setting up the Disney fireworks." He then turned to Sergeant Carmine, who was standing at attention.

"Carmine, take your squad and Bruce to arm the explosives and flank those bastards when you're done, transfer the detonation sequence to me too while you're at it. You'll be relieving the pressure on Cole and Parker's platoons. Tanner will be providing intel for you while you guys move into position. I will stay here unless some of the bastards broke through and decided to pay the control room a visit."

"Roger that, sir." Carmine and his squad then moved out.

As Carmine's squad sprinted out of the room and the control room's doors closed, Stroud's platoon was beginning to extract the Quarian slaves. "No pressure, Helena but if you don't get those Quarians out within the next 10 minutes, you're fired!" Shepard yelled into the comms. Helena came out of one of the chambers and looked at Shepard again.

"What do you think I'm doing, sir? Some of these guys are stuck to some bindings." Stroud replied as she gave the middle finger.

"Then unstuck them!" Shepard said, at that moment the control room's doors began to have some large knocks.

Shepard turned towards the sound and contacted Carmine. "Uh, Carmine? Are you guys arming the explosives?" Shepard asked.

"Affirmative sir." Carmine replied without hesitation.

"Alright, carry on and keep me posted." The doors exploded just as Shepard finished those words and took cover behind the superintendent's desk. Fifteen Batarian soldiers rushed into the room guns blazing, Shepard left cover and opened fire with his Lancer, taking two of the soldiers down while forcing the other thirteen into cover behind some consoles and the doors.

"Stroud, hostiles are on my end! Get those Quarians out! NOW."

"Alright, I got them! We're moving back out!" As Stroud and her platoon sprinted towards the entrance with the liberated Quarian slaves, Shepard threw a flashbang out into the enemy. The flashbang detonated and stunned the Batarians, which provided Shepard the perfect opportunity to counterattack.

He vaulted over the superintendent's desk and rushed towards the Batarian troops, taking seven down down with his Lancer, he then chainsawed one of the remaining six Batarian troops from the abdomen to it's waist. As the blood of the chainsawed Batarian splattered across the room he ditched the Lancer and drew his gnasher shotgun, he fired one shell at a Batarian, ripping him apart and another one at the head of another soldier.

Two of the remaining three Batarians then fired their rifles at Shepard, Shepard sprinted into cover but took a few hits to the shoulder. When he was in cover, he checked his shoulder plate and was delighted to see that the rounds had only grazed at it and didn't penetrate the platings. He then drew his Magnum and blind fired at one of the Batarians, he was shot in the leg and was terrified when he saw his leg explode into a mixture of meat and bones.

The other Batarian attempted to drag his comrade back into cover and became distracted. Shepard took the opportunity and leaped out of cover, he fired another round from the magnum at the skull of the wounded Slaver, killing him while he fired his Gnasher one-handed at the other one at point blank range. The Batarian couldn't evade the shot and his face was ruined, followed by a completely destroyed chest.

The final one rushed at Shepard with heat blade in hand and attempted to slash at the Captain as the shotgunned Batarian fell to the ground. He expertly dodged the soldier's attacks and kicked him at the guts, incapacitating him. As he Batarian painfully lied on the metal deck, Shepard rolled him over with another kick and executed the alien with a stomp to his head, brutally ending his life.

Shepard then holstered his pistol, holstered his shotgun, picked up his Lancer and proceeded to escape the facility. He found a few dozen Batarians blocking his way to the entrance and knew he needed another route. "Everyone get out of here and get to your transports! Cole, I need a mid air pick up!"

"Wilco, we're falling back the moment Stroud is out of the woods!"

Shepard pushed opened a door and found a stairway up, He proceeded to plant some grenades at the entrance and rushed upstairs. He could hear the detonation of the Grenades and the screaming of some aliens by the time he was on the 15th floor of the complex.

"Captain, we're on an Osprey and we're headed your way now!" Cole said as Shepard reached the twentieth floor.

"Got it, Cole! pick me up at the twentieth floor!" Shepard then detonated the bombs and the facility began to destabilize. Shepard kicked open a door and found Batarians sliding down from the building's destabilization, he fired at some of the Batarians as he rushed towards a window, vaulting through sliding objects and evading debris in the process.

When he was a few dozen meters from the window, Cole was nowhere to be seen and explosions suddenly rippled from inside the stairway, bringing out flames of absolute death and heat to the entire floor. Shepard ignored the agonizing screams of Batarians burning to death as he fired a dozen rounds at the windows and jumped through them.

As he began freefalling, he saw Cole's ship directly beneath him. "Oh shit!" Shepard swore. "Cole, above you!" He yelled.

"I see you, sir!" Cole saw Shepard coming and elevated the Osprey's angle so that the Osprey's blast doors would be facing Shepard, he opened it in the nick of time and Shepard fell into the Osprey, his hands being caught by two Commandos in the gunship to prevent him from falling off the other side of the Osprey.

"I fucking said twentieth floor, not twelfth!" Shepard angrily yelled as the blast doors closed and the ship corrected it's rotation.

"There weren't any numerals on the floors, sir." Cole sarcastically replied. "You're welcome, by the way." He mockingly added, much to Shepard's annoyance.

"Just get us the hell out of here."

* * *

The Osprey returned to the Tyran Glory, where the Quarian slaves and the Operators began to disembark from their saviours' transports. When Shepard's boots hit the ground, he realized something was wrong, very wrong. "Stroud, I thought I said Quarians only, why are there Asari and Turians as well?" He asked through the comms.

"The Quarians insisted that they come along, or else they won't join." Stroud replied.

"Goddammit..." Shepard muttered. "Get all of them to the med bay and I want C platoon on guard there 27/7 until we get back to Earth space, got it?"

"Yes sir."

Shepard then disconnected the link and headed towards the Quantum Room, where the hologram of President Prescott and Chief Mendez awaited him. "Captain, status report."

"Mission is a success sir, no KIA but a few WIA and we hit a rather big snag." Shepard reported.

"Spit it out then." Mendez prompt.

"The Quarian slaves insisted that we also save the Asari and Turian slaves there, they threatened to stay behind if we didn't do so. Lieutenant Stroud of C platoon, who was in temporary command due to me being unable to reach the slave chambers as I was engaged by a dozen hostiles, decided to rescue these slaves too without notifying me prior to her decision."

"Then do you wish for her to attend court martial for insubordination?"

"On the contrary sir, I want to give her a medal and a probably promotion. She had limited resources and time and she pulled it off, I doubt I'd be able to complete the mission if I met a snag this problematic." Shepard said and he was genuine about it. To Shepard, many more of the old 156th would've survived Mars that day if Stroud was commander instead of himself.

"I understand, Captain. I'll prep the medal and a maybe new bar for her. I'm also expecting a detailed report by the time you return to Arcturus Station." Mendez said.

"Understood, sir."

"Good, now take care of yourself, son." Prescott said and the two big shots of the COG disconnected. Shepard then returned to his quarters to begin filing the report as the Tyran Glory entered Warp and began their 5 day voyage back to Earth, little did they know though, is that a ship was spying on them, and that ship was working for the Citadel Council.

* * *

The Transport ships carrying thousands of slaves touched the landing decks located near the Washington Medical Center, and their ramparts opened.

Private Rojas of the South African 21st Infantry Division's combat medic unit inspected each slave he saw up close, and to say he was horrified was a severe understatement. The enslaved individuals suffered severe malnutrition, just like the Jews were starved by the Nazis back in the Second World War; some were so physically abused that their nerve centers couldn't sense those affected organs anymore.

In the Private's most optimistic estimation, less than 3 Quarters of these people would make it out of the hospital alive in their current condition, but he had faith in COG technology and God's love for all life.

Just as Rojas was about to leave to get some medical supplies from the ambulances to help some of the injured slaves, someone called him out. "Rojas, we got a kid over here who doesn't want to get in!" A Gear called out while attempting to pull the kid without hurting him too much. The Quarian child was struggling to get away from the Gear as he didn't want to enter the place.

Rojas calmly walked over to him and knelt in front of him, eyes looking directly into the boy's. "Hey boy, why don't you want to get in there?" He asked while pointing at the medical center. The Quarian boy fearlessly stared at him through his 'bubble', which was the only thing that's protecting him between life and death. "I don't trust your people, for all I could tell you people are the same as the four eyed people that killed my father." He replied bluntly, which startled the Gear a bit.

"Then how can I earn your trust?" He asked back.

"Be with me the whole time! I need someone who I can take hostage of." He instantly said. The thought of an alien kid taking a Gear hostage was hilarious, but Rojas decided to entertain the kid.

Rojas looked at the Gear from earlier. "I'll take the kid for rehabilitation. I'm sure you'll be able to look after a few hundred severely weakened and traumatized aliens, Banning." Rojas said as he lifted the child up.

"Fuck you, Rojas." Banning jokingly said as Rojas entered the Medical Center with the Quarian child in his arms.

The same scenario happened all over the area as dozens of traumatized aliens met the COG with suspicion while hundreds or even thousands greeted their saviours with enthusiasm.

* * *

Councillor Tevos was about to have lunch with Matriarch Irissa when the Batarian ambassador suddenly called for an emergency audience. Now she is standing on the Council podium with Salarian Councillor Valern and Turian Councillor Sparatus, waiting for the Ambassador to arrive.

"Councillors." A SPECTRE called. "The Batarian Ambassador has arrived." He reported.

"Let him in, Saren." Sparatus said.

"Yes sir, and a word of notice: he doesn't look happy." He said in a hushed tone.

The doors to the Council chamber grinded open, and the Ambassador stomped into the room. He looked very angry, just as SPECTRE Saren had reported. He stopped when he was 15 meters away from the Councillors and looked up.

"I apologise for the sudden audience, Councillors but I have something urgent to report." The Batarian Ambassador said.

"Then be quick with it, Ambassador. I'm late for lunch with my son." Sparatus said, he specifically addressed the Batarian diplomat by title only as he did not bother to remember the name of some four eyed alien slaver.

The Batarian glared at Sparatus for the blatant disrespect but didn't do or say anything, instead he sent a few files from his Omni tool to theirs. "20 Thessian hours ago, one of our eezo refineries on Torfan was attacked."

He played a security footage. The Councillors watched as one soldier effortlessly took down slightly more than a dozen guards while only suffering a few scratches to the shoulder. "Spirits, they're as good as a Blackwatch operator, maybe even better than one." Sparatus said as he zoomed in the footage. The soldier was in an dark grayish armor and looked like a overly muscular Asari

"What was the result?" Tevos asked.

"Thousands of 'workers' had been kidnapped by the unknowns, hundreds of dead guards and the destruction of the refinery. Its the equivalent of a few hundred million credits' worth of fortune." He answered. The Councillors knew that by 'workers', the Batarian meant slaves.

"Planetary defense fleets have also caught footage of the enemy's FTL travel, and it astounded us." He added while he played the video. The Councillor gaped their mouths in utter shock as an artificial wormhole was opened and the enemy ship entered it without breaking apart. The wormhole then quickly contracted and slammed shut as the entire ship was swallowed by it.

Recomposing from the shock first but barely, Valern turned towards the Batarian "Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Ambassador. We will conduct an investigation into the matter immediately." He said.

"Thank you, Councillor. There is also one more thing."

"What is it?" This time, it was Tevos who asked the question, she was getting irritated by the damn Batarian as she already had an idea as to what he was about to ask.

"We've joined the Citadel for such a long time that I think it is time to..." He didn't finish the words as Sparatus darted up from his seat and angrily pointed a finger at him.

"Until you've proven that your military can protect the Galaxy and that your culture is devoid of slavery, a Council seat for the Hegemony is off the table!" He practically yelled those words out, and not without reason. Batarian slavers have long avoided Council prosecution as the Hegemony always had their backs, which frustrated Hierarchy Command to no end.

The Batarian Ambassador turned to make a gaze on Tevos, hoping for a more friendly and positive answer from the pacifist Asari but when he looked at her into the eye, he already knew her answer and shook his head in disappointment. "Very well then, Councillors. I shall take my leave now to relay your response."

As the Batarian left, Sparatus sat back down. Just as the Ambassador left the Chamber and the trio of Councillors were alone, Sparatus sat down and exhaled. "I swear I will vote to kill that bastard the next time he asks for a seat with us." He said.

"I second that, he is getting very annoying." Tevos agreed as she turned to look at Valern, who was furiously typing at his Omni tool.

"What are you doing Valern?" She asked.

"Pinpointing the region these unknowns are possibly in." He replied. It took a few seconds for the other 2 Councillors to remember that Valern was a former STG operative, and by the time they remembered, he was already done. Valern didn't seem to lose his edge in intelligence gathering and computer operations despite being an inactive member for almost an entire decade.

"They live in the Attican Traverse." He concluded as he sent his findings to Tevos and Sparatus.

"How did you find them? They're using an entirely different FTL than ours." Sparatus noted.

"Yes, but the direction the ship went into was the Attican Traverse, so that is our best chance at finding this new race. It's simply the law of physics we know of, you need to face at one direction to go to a place, after all." Valern replied. Sparatus glared at Valern for the thinly veiled insult to the Turian Councillor's intelligence but didn't retaliate.

"The STG report from a few days ago stated the Migrant Fleet had entered, could it be that..." Tevos could not imagine the possibility that the Quarians had instigated a new species to attack the Council. Sparatus seemed to know Tevos' thoughts, and shook his head.

"Until we have someone to investigate the matter, we won't know for sure." Sparatus said, he then typed something in his Omni tool and Saren entered.

"What do you need of me, Councillors?" He asked in a polite but blunt manner.

"We need you to investigate possible presence of a new species in the Attican Traverse, I've sent all relevant information to you." Sparatus said. Saren checked his Omni tool and nodded.

"Will I have support?"

"The Hierarchy 28th Patrol group under your old brother Captain Desolas shall assist you in any way he can. They're in Citadel Dry Docks refueling as we speak." Sparatus replied as he typed at his Omni tool, likely to be contacting Desolas of his new mission.

Saren grinned. "When do I leave?"

* * *

"Admiral Michaelson, are you certain this is a wise proposal?" Prescott said in his holographic form. He sounded skeptical.

"I am, sir. Fortifying the Relay system that leads to Sol with 5 of our manned fleets, 20 unmanned fleets and an entire branch of Maritime Gears can buy us a lot of time for our fleets to be mobilized if any form of enemy attempts to attack Humanity while also giving the Army time to send reinforcements." Michaelson reaffirmed. The Defence Committee had been discussing this ever since the head of the COG Interstellar Navy made the proposal to form a Marine Corp.

"But the system has only one planet! One that is barely habitable due to it's atmosphere. How are you gonna fortify the system when there is only one damn planet? Not to mention the sheer manpower needed to form an entire branch of Gears!" A General asked in a rather aggressive tone, he was certainly not in favor of forming the marines.

"The planet can become a military planet. Recent technological breakthroughs have given us the ability to build massive military bases on uninhabitable or barely inhabitable worlds, giving us a great advantage as we do not have to make extra efforts to terraform the world to suit the needs of our military."

The General was about to retort Michaelson's statement when Prescott stood up. The General saw him doing just that, and decided to hold his tongue.

"Michaelson, do you think the Navy needs their arms units?" He asked again.

"At times like these? Hell yes, sir."

"Care to give me an explanation?"

"The Army may have an extreme amount of firepower that would bring an enemy low, but they lack the mobility or the quick mobilization that we may need in the coming decades. If we are to survive in a galaxy full of backstabbing assholes like the Quarians described to us, we'd need an entire army of fast, aggressive and hardcore soldiers that would act as the COG's spear and shield." He turned towards the General. "The Spec Ops is our scalpel, able to launch surgical strikes on the enemy; The Navy is our shield, protecting our people from the horrors of ground battle; And the Army is our hammer, slow but devastatingly powerful!"

"We need an army of soldiers that would allow take us to take the fight to the enemy in a quick and devastating manner while also conducting all forms of defensive warfare to make our enemy's life miserable! It doesn't need to be as big as the army, it only needs to be a fifth of it's size, and we would use it to represent the first layer Humanity's military might." He finished. By that time, Prescott was already in his seat, his expression blank as an unused sheet of paper.

Then, his lips widened into a smile and he started to applause. "Well said, Admiral, you'll have the system. In the meantime, start recruiting from the civilians, we got a massive unemployment rate to curve anyway." Prescott then turned to the Army General. "General, I want you to send 4 Mechanized Infantry Divisions and 2 Artillery Divisions to the planet. The new branch may be effective as a unit of light Infantry, but they will still need the Army's hammer to push the enemy back."

The General grunted in annoyance. "Yes sir, I'll get the necessary troops ready."

* * *

_"Tell my__ brothers... my dad..." _Ben said.

_"__tell my brothers... my dad... " _Ben said again.

_"That... YOU KILLED US!" _In an instant, Ben's face turned from the young optimistic boy to a rotting and bloody monstrosity. He opened his mouth, it was as wide as a bears paw and Ben had it lunged at Shepard's face.

Shepard yelled out in utter horror and shock as he woke up from his nightmare. Shepard slammed his fist at the bunk he was on and then clutched his head like a mad man. All he could think was when would the nightmares... memories of guilt and failings be gone for good. Suddenly, his comm link beeped, signifying a notification. Accepting it, he found a message sent by Chief Mendez.

**Captain Shepard,**

**Due to your stellar performance in the raid a few days ago, and recommendations from Lieutenant Parker of the Onyx Guard detachment that joined you on the raid. As of today, you are officially promoted to Special Operations Major (*OFF THE RECORD* and will be my successor as Chief Director of Special Forces once my term ends, which is 36 months from now. You can decline the promotion to CDOF if you do not like it via QEC or a formal letter.). **

**In the meantime, you will be given command of the 15th Commando Battalion, whose former Commander had met an unfortunate accident during training that forced his early retirement. You will report to Major Gregory of the 14th Commando Battalion on S.H. 15, Designated Harmony, where your unit is currently located.**

**Stay Safe till you get that bar ****Commander,**

**Chief Mendez Out**

Shepard could not believe his eyes, he was to become the Director of Special Forces, one of the most influential and prestigious ranks in the COG. But through all that power would bring along a great responsibility, was he really ready to send hundreds, or even thousands of well trained soldiers to their possible deaths; was he really ready to bury their names to be forgotten in the event that their mission fails?

Shepard shook the thoughts out of his head, he proceeded to pour some lemon water into a glass and gulped it. Afterwards, he went for the bridge and ordered the navigator to bring the Tyran Glory to Harmony.


	4. First Strike

**slightly rewritten Timeline and Chapter One**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

*_2 months later*_

Saren stared at Relay 314 on the observation deck. While outwardly calm, he was in reality, very excited and at the same time nervous. He would be the first to explore an uncharted Relay since the Yahg, and there was a high chance that a highly aggressive species would be on the other side.

As he was about to ask for a status report on the probe that was sent through the relay, his brother Desolas jogged towards him with datapad in hand. "Saren!" He called out.

"What is it, brother?" He asked.

Desolas handed him the datapad. "The report from the probe." He said as Saren read through it. "The Intel is solid, we got a species on the other side of the Relay. We also managed to identify this."

Desolas took the pad and typed some buttons. He then handed the pad back to Saren and Saren examined it thoroughly, it was a comparison of two symbols, one was from the attack on Torfan while the other one was photographed by the probe on the other side of the Relay. They looked very similar with the only difference is that the one on Torfan has a skull in the middle while the one photoed by the probe had an anchor with three four-sided stars on top on it.

Saren put down the pad and looked at Desolas. "These should be the same ones who attacked the Batarians on Torfan." He concluded and even then his voice was trembling in doubt.

"What are your orders then?" Desolas asked, who didn't seem to notice the doubt in his younger brother's words.

"We return to the Citadel, report this to the Council and let them decide. Recall the probe and prepare to move out." Saren ordered. Desolas nodded and left the observation deck while Saren picked the datapad up and looked at it one more time.

"I have a feeling that there will be a bloodbath after we leave." Saren muttered to himself before putting it back down and turning to leave the deck as well.

* * *

As the Turian fleet jumped through the relay and left the system, a Batarian fleet of fifteen thousand ships jumped into the system. Fleetmaster Amon of the 3rd Batarian Fleet and commander of ten thousand slave transports read the report sent by the fleet's cyber warfare unit and grinned. "This is the place." He said out aloud.

His first officer looked at him. "Sir?"

"This is where that upstart race launched their attack on our glorious refinery in Torfan and kidnapped thousands of labour, meaning this is where the attackers live." He impassively said as he sent the report to his First Officer's Omni Tool. His officer read it and nodded, he was impressed by the effectiveness of the Hegemony's cyber-warfare unit.

"Remind me to give each of those men an Asari and the upstart species as a reward after this, they deserve it for breaking into the Turia probe's firewall undetected." Amon ordered in an arrogant tone as he turned back towards the viewport to look at the Relay before him. "This upstart species will be a great new addition to our market."

"Already dropped it down, sir." The first officer replied.

Amon nodded. "Send word to all ships to prepare for battle! In the name of the Hegemony, we will conquer this new species and have them serve our needs today!" He declared in an authoritative voice.

"For the Hegemony!" The bridge crew chanted in unison, who then began rushing towards different areas of the bridge as protocol dictated. Amon turned to look at Relay 314. "For Torfan." He whispered in a voice so weak that no one could hear before turning from the viewport and left the bridge, he had a battle to fight but that didn't stop him from having fun with his slaves.

The massive Batarian fleet then began to accelerate to Relay 314, not knowing that their action would bring a great and horrible change to the landscape of galactic politics.

* * *

Sergeant Major Zaeed Massani of the 1st United States Interstellar Marine Division lied on his bunk, he was bored as hell. "When I signed back up to the Military, they never told me the Marines would be more boring than the Army!" He grumbled grumpily. There are only 200,000 Marines in the nascent Marine Corps and they are all in Heavengate Military Base. The Army Garrison still hadn't arrived and that would mean more boring shifts for Zaeed.

Just as he was about to take some shut-eye to prepare for his next shift, the alarms blared angrily and they were not drill alarms. Zaeed immediately darted up from his bunk and rushed out of his quarters.

When he was outside, he caught a Gear Marine by the shoulder and turned him around. "What's happening Sergeant?" He asked with his usual drill voice.

"I'm in the dark as you are, sir but word is that the system edge's EWS has been tripped by a fleet of ships that are not registered in our database. Lieutenant Colonel Morgan is calling for all NCOs and COs from the Battalion to meet at the Command Center." The Sergeant replied before shrugging off Zaeed's grip and continued running.

Zaeed decided to join the group of running officers too until he reached the Command Center. As Zaeed entered the Command Room, he realised that it was cramped as so many Gears were inside, he almost fell as he tripped over a piece of equipment but managed to balance himself.

Zaeed then found a spot to stand on and remained there. At the same time, Morgan and her retinue of officers entered the Command Room. "Officer on Deck!" A Lieutenant yelled out, and the entire room saluted at the Marine Commander.

Morgan returned the salute. "At ease, officers." The Quantum Projector then lit up, showing the layout of the system. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, we just got word from the token fleet of four thousand drone ships above orbit that we got a fleet of bad guys moving in to kill and pillage us." A large red dot appeared on the Projector, indicating the hostile fleet.

The Gear officers in the room began muttering their thoughts about it until Morgan called for silence. "Well I don't know what you think about this, but let me tell you what I think." She took a deep breath. "If these assholes think they can come to our gates and give us the middle finger, then they're very mistaken. We will defend this rock till the end, we will show these assholes who is boss around here and we will definitely show them how the Gear Marines do their jobs!"

"Hoo rah!" Everyone shouted in unison.

"Now, I want everyone to be in their posts with their units now! HQ will send orders to you all via QEC links, now get to it!" She yelled. The Maritime Gear Officers then filed out of the room and prepared for battle. Zaeed was one of the first to leave as he was at the rear of the group, he jogged towards his squad's armory, where his men were arming themselves. "Alright Marines, listen up!" He yelled as he opened his locker and grabbed a standard Lancer.

"We got bad guys moving in to shove their guns on our asses and plunder our turf! But I say we give these assholes none of that, what we will give them would be a belly full of explosive lead and a pool of their own blood to drown in." He looked at his Marines as he loaded a magazine into his Lancer, they were looking at their NCO, waiting for the obvious question. "Am I right, Marines?" Zaeed finally asked the inevitable question.

"Sir, yes sir!" They answered in unison.

Zaeed nodded. "Mhm, you're damn right I am. Now move your asses to the Maverick before I whip you shitsticks right in the ass!" The Marines then rushed out of the armory while Zaeed and a JACK bot followed them closely behind.

As the group got onto the Maverick and the JACK bot inserted itself into the Maverick's JACK container, Zaeed received a radio request. Accepting it, he was not surprised to hear the voice of Captain Irons. "Massani, I need your squad at Checkpoint Domino. First Lieutenant Adams needs the extra rifles as they will probably be the ones taking the brunt of a ground assault if the enemy lands." He said.

"Roger that, sir. We'll make sure the Lieutenant gets his rifles." Zaeed then disconnected and knocked at the top of the Maverick's driver cockpit. "Driver, get us to Checkpoint Domino pronto!"

"You got it, Sergeant Major." The driver replied as the Maverick began to move while two other trucks carrying more Marines followed from behind.

* * *

"Admiral Koris, how's the habitat we've given to you?"

"It is superb, President Prescott. Thank you for asking." Koris replied with a light and cheerful tone. Ever since the Quarians have joined the COG, COG Engineering skills skyrocketed as skillful Quarian engineers taught old and new generations of Engineers on the principles of all types of engineering.

"No, it is I who should thank you. Your people has helped improve our capabilities as engineers, this improving every aspect of the COG's quality of life. I hope that the shipyards of your habitat is doing well." Prescott said.

"Oh it is doing very well. Ever since scrapping our entire fleet, the shipyards have been recycling the materials and melding them with your own. Afterwards, they used the newly melded materials to build our new ships, which are in better shape and more powerful than those that we had even before our exile." Koris stated.

"Good to know. Soon, you'll be able to take back Rannoch if the Geth refuses to negotiate." Prescott said.

"Indeed..." Koris' words were cut off when the QEC beeped crazily.

"My apologies, Admiral." Prescott quickly apologized as he accepted the transmission. Once he accepted it, the image of Marine General Philips materialized, the Army turned Marine General looked desperate as hell.

"Sir, Heavengate is under siege! Batarian forces have launched an attack on Heavengate! Our token drone fleet is moving in to intercept and delay their attack as we speak!" He yelled, Prescott could hear the desperation in his voice, and if a war veteran from the Jovian Wars feels desperate, then Prescott should be terrified.

"Calm down, General! What is the system's current status?" Prescott asked.

"Orbital Defense haven't started construction but we got active planetary defense guns ready to blow enemy ships out of the sky! The Marine Corps is mobilized and ready for battle but I seriously doubt we could hold them out so send some help ASAP!" Philips said.

"Understood, General. The First through Tenth Tyran Infantry Divisions, the First through Fourth Tyran Armored Calvary Divisions and the First Tyran Armored Division under General Hoffman, along with Admiral Hackett's 2nd United States Fleet are en route to relieve you! We'll give you an estimation later." Prescott assured.

Philips nodded and disconnected, Prescott then turned towards Koris, who also nodded and disconnected. "PIPE, get Admiral Hackett and General Hoffman on the line now, I want them to relieve our boys trapped at Heavengate within the week!"

"_As you wish, President Prescott._" The President's personal AI assistant responded with it's monotone voice as it diverts a fraction of it's processing power to complete the given task.

"Call for Major Shepard and Major Gregory on Harmony as well!" He added.

* * *

Philips examined the tactical board, to say that he was in a shithole was an understatement. He sighed in exhaustion and frustration. "MARY, what is the status of the drone fleet?" He asked the AI controlling the fleet of drones.

MARY materialized next to the Tactical board and in front of the General. "_Fleet strength at sixty percent and dropping, hostile fleet has broken our formation and is conducting systematic destruction on what is left of the fleet._" She emotionlessly reported, something which slightly disturbed the General despite knowing that she was not sentient.

Philips sighed. "Retreat and regroup, then relaunch an attack on the enemy fleet. At the fleet's current strength, the only viable tactic it can do is hit and run." He said.

"_As you command, General._" MARY replied in it's monotone, yet slightly feminine voice before disintegrating into nothing.

"Colonel Morrison, what's our forces' status?" He asked.

"Our forces are now in position, we've got quadcoptor drones and Ospreys in the air, they're patrolling our airspace as we speak. Our ground forces have set up defensive positions on all choke points leading to the base while we diverted a regiment of our troops into defending the base, should be enough to hold out until reinforcement arrives." Morrison reported.

Philips nodded, he was confident in the Marines' ability to give the enemy hell, but he doubted that their stockpile of food and ammo could last as long as his Marines. "Let's hope Command can send those reinforcements before the end of the week, or else we're screwed." He said just as Lieutenant Colonel Morgan entered the room.

"Sir, you called for me?" She asked while saluting.

Philips saluted back. "Indeed, Morgan. I have a task for you."

"I'm in as long as its not your shopping list." She jokingly replied.

Philips ignored the reply as he activated the tactical map on the display board. There was a green dot located 30 kilometers from the base, and he zoomed towards the area. "Ospreys have identified a good spot to place our mortar units as artillery support, KO units from Vulture Squadron have loaded twenty six M120 Mortars, their crew of Marines and another two platoon of Marines." He turned towards Morgan. "And you will be the one leading it."

Morgan seemed visibly very distraught by the order as she was being away from the frontlines and the Marines under her Command but she accepted it and saluted to the General anyways. "Roger that, sir. I'll move out in twenty." She then turned and quickly left the Command Room as Morrison stepped in beside the General.

"Sir, just got word from Command. Two Battalions of Commandos are en route as a QRF to give us some assistance while Hoffman's reinforcements will be here by the end of the week." He dutifully reported. Philips turned towards the Colonel and padded him by his left shoulder. "Good, now I want you and Lieutenant Colonel Sawyer to begin allocating ammo and rations to our troops on the field with our Buffaloes."

Morrison saluted, then left to begin his task. Philips then turned back towards the Tactical board, by that time more than sixty percent of the fleet's ships were floating wrecks as more signals of the fleet started popping out of existence. Philips sighed. "Why the hell do I always hit the jackpot?" He silently asked himself.

At the same moment, hundreds, or even thousands of small red dots started appearing from the enemy fleet. "Oh no." Philips muttered before turning to all officers in the room. "Signal all units! Prepare for battle!" He bellowed before turning back to the Tactical board and diverting quadcoptors to act as support for the Marines. The siege of Heavengate has begun, and the Marines will be the ones taking the brunt of it.

* * *

Zaeed looked at the sky, it was dotting with enemy dropships and flak gun fire. His squad has reached where Irons wanted him to be and First Lieutenant Adams was quick to thank Zaeed for the quick arrival. He then had his squad located at the left flank of the defense barricade, where there weren't enough rifles to fill up.

"Massani, look!" Adams said as he pointed his finger at the front of the barricade.

Zaeed looked at it. "Holy fuck We're screwed." He said and to anyone present, it was a very suitable phrase to describe the situation before them. "I'm counting 300 hostile infantry and a dozen IFVs three hundred meters ahead, you sure we brough enough rockets, First Lieutenant?" He turned and asked Adams, who simply shrugged at the question before a high caliber slug hit the Marine next to him at stunning speeds, the slug got through his armor and spine, ripping him into two. The Marine limped towards the ground and hit the dirt dead, and his innards was spewing out like a pot of boiling water overflowing.

"Shit! Get to cover!" Adams yelled as the Marines not in cover rapidly went behind the barricades and opened fire at the approaching group of aliens. Multiple aliens were instantly ripped to shreds by the return fire while the rest rapidly went behind their armored vehicles. Adams fired his Markza at a Batarian soldier, the shot blew his legs off and he fell to the ground, Adams then finished him off with a shot to the head as he attempted to crawl back into cover, leaving the bloody corpse without half of it's head.

"Alright Jackhammers! Show those sons of bitches what you're made of!" Zaeed yelled as he lifted a Jackhammer launcher from a weapons box and aimed it at one of the enemy vehicles while , the aluminium frame of it made it light despite the bulky appearance it had. Zaeed then applied pressure to the trigger and a missile ejected from the launcher. The missile then darted upwards into the sky and started curving back down towards the target, five seconds before the impact the missile's middle suddenly split up and became micro-missiles, they spiraled around their bigger counterpart and detonated. What followed was a magnificent explosion from it's antimatter storage and a few of the vehicles were blown up instantly, with most of the soldiers behind them dying as well.

A few Marines then fired their Lancer's grenade launchers and their weaker laser guided cluster rockets finished the job. Zaeed stood up and looked at the carnage, the enemy force was obliterated, random body parts were seen everywhere. Zaeed turned to Adams, who was kneeling beside the brutally killed Marine. "Dammit!" The First Lieutenant cursed. "This was Hill's first week..." He whispered sadly as he collected his COG tags and stored it in his left thigh's pouch.

As Marines from Hill's squad came around his ruined corpse to mourn his death, Zaeed turned away from the scene, he had already experienced too much of this from the Jovian Wars and like the many million Veterans of that accursed war, he wasn't ready to mourn the loss of another soldier again. Just as he turned to look back at the carnage from before, he saw another wave of hostiles incoming.

"We got more visitors!" He yelled as he manned the Deathbringer turret on his side. He opened fire, and thousands of rounds from the dual chain guns and the autocannon were spewed out and flew towards the Batarian troops. Many Batarians were killed by the hail of fire but many more fell from to the combined firepower of the Marines.

Zaeed could hear Adams contacting Command in the chaotic firefight. "Control, this is 3rd Platoon! We are in need of quadcoptor support, hostile forces are renewing their assault on our position as we speak!" He yelled into the comms as another explosion took place behind his cover. The Sergeant Major couldn't hear the reply from Command as the rippling sound of explosions deafened his ears even with his helmet on.

A Marine next to Zaeed, Jackson if he remembered correctly, was then shot in the shoulder as he came out of cover to shoot. He fell back into cover and clutched it in pain. "Fuck that hurt!" He yelled but when he checked the area of impact, he was shocked to find that the shot had not penetrated the platings, he sighed in relieve. "At least I won't be bleeding to death!" He sarcastically commented about his wound. Zaeed chuckled at his words and continued to fire the turret.

Batarian troops took cover in the wreckage and dug deep, they returned fire and the battle soon became more similar to a trench battle from the relatively ancient but infamously bloody First World War. The battle went like that on until Zaeed saw a missile speeding towards him from the enemy's lefty flank. "Oh shit!" He cursed as he jumped out of the turret and hit the dirt. The missile blew the turret up and sent fragments of it everywhere, Zaeed slowly crawled back up and grabbed his Lancer, which laid a few meters next to him, and took cover next to Adams.

"Where are those drones?" He asked to the top of his lungs as he peeked out and opened fire. He took down two Batarians with lucky headshots and was forced to duck back into cover as the others focused fire on his position. Zaeed then glared at Adams, who had yet to answer his question. "Where are the fucking drones!?" He yelled.

Adams growled in frustration and annoyance. "How the hell do I know! I just shoot, not program!" He yelled in response. At the same moment a lucky shot from the enemy hit the back of his helmet and he fell to the ground due to the kinetic shock. Through sheer luck, the shoot hit a lucky angle and was deflected by the helmet and a slightly stunned Adams quickly recovered and crawled back into cover. "Fucking hell, that was close!" He exclaimed in panic. "And that really hurt." He added.

As Zaeed was about to acquire another Jackhammer missile launcher from the weapons crate, a few dozen Guardian class quadcoptor drones flew into the battle and unleashed their chain guns on the enemy. The Batarians then took cover and began to take severe casualties from the COG reinforcements. "Man, they're finally here!" The Sergeant Major said.

The Non-commissioned Officer was about to sit down and watch the drones do their thing when he saw something coming towards them, and it was flying in fast. Zaeed "Gunship coming in!" He said as he opened fire on the new arrival. Adams directed the drones to focus fire on the gunship. The drones hit it in it's engines as it fired a cluster of missiles at the Marines, and fortunately for them, they missed and impacted a few dozen meters behind them instead.

Adams was about to order the drones to refocus their fire when Zaeed made a weak punch to his back and pointed at the gunship, it was gliding towards them. "Uh oh." He mumbled in fear as he turned to run.

"And gunship is going down!" Zaeed yelled out as he joined up with Adams and the Marines next to the two of them. The craft crashed straight into the barricades and blew up pretty much everything on the left flank. Zaeed stood up and looked at the scene and already knew that this place was lost. "Sir, we gotta leave now. The line is lost!" He said as he started lifting the weapons crates to a Buffalo with a Marine while the other Marines quickly gathered the tags and weapons of the fallen.

Adams nodded. "My thoughts exactly, Sergeant Major! Have the men get aboard the Buffaloes." Zaeed nodded and began instructing the surviving Marines onto the truck while Adams ran towards one of the trucks and contacted Command as he climbed onto it. "Command, 3rd Platoon here! Checkpoint Domino has been breached. Repeat, Domino is lost! We're conducting a tactical retreat back to HQ, over." He notified Command.

"Roger that, Adams. Move your boys to Battle Line Luna ASAP, I'm moving in with another platoon to assist, over." The voice of Captain Irons ordered.

"Wilco, Command, Adams out!" He then disconnected and fired his Lancer at the Batarians. By that time, the Batarians had already took down the drones and were continuing their advance towards the Marines. Zaeed pushed a Marine into a truck, got onto it and then turned around to fire again, only to see a Marine lagging behind. "Jackson, get your ass over here!" He yelled at Jackson, who was still taking cover behind a barricade.

Jackson didn't reply, instead he began sprinting towards the Buffalo next to Zaeed. Through incredible misfortune, the Marine was shot in the ass and tripped towards the ground. "Shit!" Adam cursed as he leaped down from his Buffalo and helped Jackson up. "You ain't dying just yet, Marine!" He shouted with a drill sergeant tone while firing his magnum.

"Jeez, thanks sir!" Jackson said as Adams and another Marine brought the injured Marine up onto the truck.

Adams then reached for the turret seat and knocked the top of the driver's seat. "Drive!" He ordered and then pulled the retracting slide handle of the autocannon. He proceeded to have it face the the enemy and opened fire. When he was firing, Zaeed gave him a casualty count, twenty four Marines were killed, the equivalent of two squads, or six fireteams. "God dammit!" Adams growled out in rage and kept firing the autocannon.

As the convoy drove through a narrower way in the canyon, two Batarian gunships fired a volley of a missiles at them. The first Buffalo was hit at it exploded, sending burning Marines and occasionally, burning limbs flying while the wreckage rammed into the side, causing an unstable boulder to collapse onto the road, blocking the convoy from advancing any further.

Zaeed looked at the burning corpses of the Marines, then at the fallen boulder. "Well shit." He mumbled and hopped off the Buffalo. He ran towards the site and inspected the boulder. He shook his head in displeasure and turned towards Adam, who had also hopped out of his Buffalo. "No good, sir. We're stuck until we get some low yield ordinance to blow this up."

"Can't we use our Jackhammers to blow this up? Or even our grenade launchers?" A Marine suggested.

Adams shook his head in disagreement. "The payload we brought for both of the launchers are too strong as they both have antimatter storage. We'll need something like dynamite or TNT to blow this up." He explained as he turned towards the Marine who made the suggestion. "Besides, we got some more visitors on our six and we'll need every bullet and rocket we can get." He added.

The First Lieutenant sighed in exhaustion. "I'll notify Command that we've hit this snag. In the meantime, do your best to set up a defensible position using what resources we have." He ordered before turning from the Marines and contacting Command about their situation. "Command, this is Adams. We've hit a snag and we're unable to proceed, please advise."

"_Command here, new orders have come from the General himself, you are to hold that canyon to your last breath, Lieutenant Colonel Morgan will provide you artillery support as long as you keep transmitting barrage coordinates to her._" An officer said in the comms. Adam was infuriated by the order as it meant that his entire unit was being sent to their deaths. "Command, I don't think you understand our situation, at all! We're down to half of our number; we've got wounded; we're low on ammo and we're short on defensible positions!" He almost yelled that out.

The officer didn't reprimand him for the outburst against a superior officer, instead he merely sighed. "_Look I'll be honest with you, kid. We're getting hit from all sides, Checkpoint Sierra and Checkpoint Foxtrot have already fallen, Captain William's Company got wiped out and Major McCoy's entire Battalion is under pressure from basically every direction. We're losing this fight and we don't want to lose another front just to allow an acceleration to our destruction._"

Adams couldn't believe what he was hearing, the COG Marines, one of the best conventional infantry units in the entire species, were losing the fight and many men were dying en mass... Good, fiercely loyal and dedicated men."_If Checkpoint Luna falls, then the entire enemy army would be given the ability to poke our asshole, which translates to 'Game Over' for us. That is why you **must **hold the line._" The Officer explained.

Adams sighed in resignation after a few seconds of solemn silence. "Roger that, Command. We'll hold the line." He then disconnected and turned around, only to see Zaeed looking at him, his helmet obscuring his expressions.

"I overheard it." He simply said before moving forward and padding the First Lieutenant by the shoulder. "You did your best, sir."

Adams lowered his head. "We're all gonna die here." He said under his breath, but loud enough for the Sergeant Major to hear.

"The we'll die standing and waving the flag of liberty!" He replied and turned to face the Marines, who were all looking at Adams.

Adams looked at each of them before raising his fist. "Semper fidelis ad libertatem." He shouted to the top of his lungs.

"Semper tueri humanitatis." The Marines finished for him. "For the People!" They added in unison before they started setting up the their defense lines with the Buffaloes while Zaeed and two other Marines began setting up mobile barricades that weren't deployed in Domino and were stored in the armed and heavily armored battle trucks.

Adams went on to look for signs of the enemy forces as he prepared himself for the fight of his life.

* * *

Eight Owl Class Stealth Attack Prowlers exited the Warp corridor and drifted slightly before activating their cloaking field and heat absorbers, turning them as cold and as black as space itself. "Heat emissions reduced to zero, visual camouflage and HAD are up and active without signs of malfunctioning. No enemy ships are converging in our position, we're clear." The Tactical Officer of the Tyran Glory reported.

Shepard nodded in appreciation. "Good job, officer. Now get us a view on Heavengate." As Shepard gave out that order, he had a feeling in his guts that he would not like it. And much to his disdain, his guts were right.

The tactical display projected Heavengate's situation through an external camera from the forward section of the ship, and Gregory gaped his mouth at the sight in shock. "Holy shit." He muttered while quivering slightly.

"Yeah, I think we had established that when we were given that briefing by Prescott." Shepard told him before sighing. "But still, reading and witnessing is a completely different experience." He admitted before turning towards a moving hexagonal hologram.

"UPPERCUT, what do we have out there?" He asked the hologram.

The Hologram stopped and Shepard felt as if it was staring at him. "Approximately twenty five hundred enemy vessels detected, of which 500 are landing on the planet while the others are in the upper atmosphere." The AI paused for a few agonising seconds before speaking again. "There is also a fleet of one hundred Unmanned Combat Vessels under Heavengate Military Base's AI, located three hundred thousand kilometres, fifteen degrees off our starboard." It emotionlessly reported.

Shepard sighed, then nodded. "Prowlers will conduct passive sensor pings in a 10 second interval and stay in position." He then turned towards Gregory. "Major, mind if you and the other officers in the fleet prepare the men in the armory and have them at the hangars within thirty minutes?"

Gregory nodded in response and proceeded to jog out of the bridge. Shepard then turned to the Communications Officer. "Comms, send word to the relief fleet and report the enemy invasion fleet's composition, Hackett will really appreciate the updated intel. Also, connect me to General Philips ASAP, I need to know the situation planetside."

"On it, sir." The Officer said before methodically and efficiently typing into the Communications console.

The hologram of UPPERCUT was soon replaced with General Philips' hologram, the General looked extremely exhausted and desperate but saluted perfectly nonetheless. "Major Shepard, glad you could join us!" He greeted in a tone of relief and gratitude, which solidified Shepard's thought that the Marines really needed help.

Shepard returned the salute. "Where do you need us, sir? I got two battalions of Commandos with me." He asked while also notifying the General of his troops.

The General nodded in appreciation. "We need one battalion in Sector Beta, north of the base as we are receiving the greatest push of Batarian troops from that side." The map of the battlefield materialized in front of Shepard, with a big blob of red in the North. "We're also gonna need the other Battalion filled with ammo and scattered across the battlefield as our men received less pressure on the other sides but are low on supplies." He added.

Smaller dots of red appeared all over the map, signifying smaller enemy presence in those areas. Shepard nodded. "I'll have the men move in via Stealth Ospreys. With the enemy fleet in orbit, a stealth approach would be the best way into blue territory without catching our asses on fire."

Philips nodded. "Good luck, Major. The Marine Corps' survival is depending on your actions." He then saluted and disconnected and Shepard sighed, this was gonna be a long week for him.

"Tactical, you have the Conn until Admiral Hackett arrives!" Shepard said out aloud as he walked through the blast doors.

"Yes sir!" Was all the Major could hear before the blast doors to the bridge slammed shut behind him. Shepard then jogged towards Armory 15, where Sergeant Carmine and his squad were.

The Commandos saluted. "Sir!" Carmine greeted but Shepard could hear a tone of worry in it.

"Something that's worrying you, Carmine?" Shepard asked as he grabbed a standard variant Lancer from the weapons' racket.

"Yeah, my brother Derrick is serving in the 1st US Marines Division. And from what I heard, they took heavy casualties holding the canyon south of the base." He explained as he holstered his magnum and began storing ammunition into his pouches. "Just hoping that he made it out in one piece, he's barely twenty two and he's got a wife and two kids back home."

"He'll make it, don't worry." Shepard calmly reassured while loading some magazines into his left thigh's pouch.

"I sure do hope he would. See you at the hangar, Major." Carmine replied before turning to leave the armory with his squad, leaving Shepard behind. Shepard then began loading a few more magazines into his pouches, then getting a Gnasher and loaded it with explosive shells. He then holstered it onto his back's magnetic weapons holder and walked towards his locker. He typed the locker's passcode and the locker door hissed opened.

Extending his hand into the locker, he grabbed something and had it came out with a photo in hand, a photo of the old 156th. "Wish me luck, guys." Shepard whispered as tears slid from his eyes before putting the photo back and slamming the locker shut. He then put on his helmet and turned to leave the armory. It was a short and peaceful walk to the hangar and when he entered the Hangar, every Commando aboard the Tyram Glory stood at attention. "Major on deck!" Gregory shouted.

"At ease, men." Shepard ordered and the Commandos stood at ease. "UPPERCUT, broadcast this to the fleet." He ordered under his breath. The AI didn't reply, but the activation of the ship's speakers was more than enough. Shepard inhaled deeply before sighing. "Men, in this next few hours, days or even weeks, we will be in the thick of one of the largest and most brutal battles Humanity has fought since the final days of the Jovian Wars."

Many of the Commandos lowered their heads in solemn out of respect for the fallen. They then shifted their heads towards Shepard and the Major continued. "Down in the battlefield of Heavengate, the Marines are fighting not against tyranny, not against genocide, but against the very manifestation oppression itself. They are fighting so that their families... and our families back home can live peacefully and soundly without the fear of slavery or violation of basic rights."

The Commandos looked at him in utter silence and Shepard continued on. "Right now, they're losing this fight, and they're not going to make it... unless we help them." He paused and looked at his watch. "Today is the twenty second of December, why don't we give the Marines an early gift of relief, our families an early, unseen gift of freedom, and an early gift of explosive lead for those sons of bitches invading our turf?" Shepard asked, though it was a statement more than a question.

"Sir, yes sir!" They replied in unison before jogging to their respective Ospreys in an orderly fashion, Shepard decided to joined Helena's Osprey. He then tapped into the comms. "Major Gregory, take the 14th to the North of the base, it's a party over there." He paused for a while. "Captain Cole, Captain Tanner and Captain Lee, take your companies and go towards the West, South and East respectively." He turned towards Stroud. "Stroud's Company and I will be circulating around the battlefield to provide quick reaction reinforcements." He then disconnected and deactivated the magnetic holder of his Lancer as he grabbed it from his back.

The Ospreys took off, and began speeding towards the planet as they cloaked themselves. The Ospreys passed through the Batarian fleet and descended into orbit undetected. The Ospreys were soon in the planet's atmosphere and they spread out to support the COG Marine Corps. Just as Shepard's Osprey began looking for Batarians to kill with the Osprey's external cameras, he received a communications burst. "Anyone on this frequency, this is First Lieutenant Adams! Our asses are on fire and we need a cold bucket of water, NOW!" Someone yelled into the comms.

Shepard connected to the comms. "First Lieutenant Adams, this is Major Shepard of the 15th Commando Battalion. We read you loud and clear, where do you need us?" He asked.

"Commandos? Thank God you guys are here!" There was a slight pause before Adams spoke again. "We're trapped in Triplex Canyon, south of the base, sending coordinates now."

"South of the base? That is where Carmine's brother is at. Better go check it out." Shepard muttered. He then received the coordinates and examined it. "We got the coordinates, we'll be there in Oscar Mike so hang tight Marine." He then disconnected and turned towards the pilot. "SO-56, get us to these coordinates ASAP!" He ordered.

"Roger that, sir! I suggest you guys hold onto to something!" Shepard did as he was told and he was glad he did. The Osprey boosted to speeds that he wasn't aware it could make and he felt as if something was hammering his whole body into paste. The Osprey soon reached the site and Shepard looked at the scene through external cameras.

"Oh my God." A Commando muttered in absolute shock. The Marines down there were pinned and were holding the first only line with everything they had, Shepard could see vehicle remains and dead bodies littered all over the Batarian lines while around a dozen dead Marines were on the Marine battle lines, which was a makeshift of ruined deployable barricades and Buffalo trucks.

"Get us in close, the Marines are sitting ducks down there!" Shepard ordered the pilot. The pilot complied and had the Stealth Osprey close get closer towards the battle zone, Shepard slid opened the left blast doors of the Osprey and turned to the Commandos. "Come on and help give those Marines some rifles!" He ordered as he opened fire on the Batarians.

The Commandos followed Shepard's command and opened fire from the Osprey. The Batarians saw the Osprey's occupants raining death on them and attempted to retaliate but the Marines immediate pressed their attack on the Batarians, soon they began retreating from the overwhelming firepower and the battle was temporarily over for the battered Marines.

"Pilot, find us an open area and land. Relocate towards the East to support Captain Cole afterwards." Shepard ordered. The Osprey landed in front of the Marines' battle line and Shepard and the Commandos hopped out of it. The Marines went out of cover to greet the Major as the Osprey took off and went towards the East.

The commanding officer of the Marines, Adams, saluted. "Sir, you cannot imagine how thankful I am for your assistance." He greeted as he extended his hand.

Shepard gladly took it. "No problem First Lieutenant, the COG watch each other's back." Shepard replied as he looked behind the Major, and one particular figure caught his attention, he looked awfully familiar until his memories came back to him. "Sergeant Major Zaeed Massani?" Shepard said out aloud.

The Sergeant Major turned towards Shepard in confusion until he recognized the voice. "John Shepard? That you?" He asked in shock as he walked towards his former trainee and holstered his weapons.

Shepard chuckled in slight amusement. "The one and only." He replied as he moved to embrace the old Sergeant. The Sergeant Major didn't embrace him but gave out his armored hand, which Shepard had taken and shook. "Glad to see you alive and kicking after training an asshole like me, Sarge!" Shepard enthusiastically greeted.

"Well, I'm surprised to see an amazingly retarded son of a bitch like you get promoted to Major of the COG Commandos! By the way, any other of my old trainees with you? I'd love to see them!" Zaeed asked.

Shepard turned towards Stroud, who immediately stared and saluted at Zaeed. "Sergeant Major Massani, long time no see! Good to see you in top physical and mental condition even after all these years!" She stiffly greeted while sweating slightly, her recruit instants instantly returning to her.

"Cut that crap, Helena. Everyone is pretty much equal in a shitty battlefield like this so ranks aren't much of big deal here." Zaeed casually replied before turning to Shepard. "Any others around?" He further asked.

"Cole and Tanner are busy on the other fronts here. That son of a bitch Norman is now serving in the GHOSTS after General Mitchell requested that he get reassigned to the brigade a few days after Commando training, and the others… They were killed either during the Jovian Wars by the UIP, or on Mars by the owners of the ruins." The last statement made Shepard tremble in regret and Zaeed could see it.

He stepped towards Shepard's side "You know, what happened to those men and woman wasn't your fault. I read those after action reports from the others, you did what you had to and their lives were spent to complete the objective, not wasted." He whispered into Shepard's ear, which enraged Shepard.

He shook his head in disagreement. "I called the shots on the crowd that day, I started that goddamn war that cost more than a billion lives, their lives wouldn't need to be spent if it weren't for me!" Shepard hissed back in anger before lowering his head in shame and sadness. "And my incompetence had most of my men killed on Mars... good men." He muttered under his breath.

Zaeed sighed in frustration, he knew Shepard was still blaming himself for what happened in those two incidents and he could not stop him from doing it. "If that's what you think, son." He paused and turned around. "Then prove to the world you can change from the incompetent shit you think you are in this battle." He said before leaving to secure the outer perimeter with his squad of Marines.

Shepard looked at Zaeed's shadow before lowering his head, contemplating his former drill instructor's words. "Prove to the world that I can change from the incompetent shit that I think I am, huh?" Shepard muttered to himself before turning towards Adams, who went to talk with a one of the surviving Marine when Shepard decided to have a reunion chat with the Sergeant Major. "First Lieutenant Adams, a word please." He politely requested in a loud voice.

Adams heard him, dismissed the Marine and walked over to Shepard. "What do you need of me, sir?" He asked.

"Any standing orders from Command to do something as of now?" Shepard asked.

"Command told us to ensure that this place remain in COG control, considering that the place is clear now, I guess my timetable is free now." Adams replied.

Just as Shepard was about to reply, a message sent by the prowlers caught his attention. He had his AI open the file, he then read through it and grinned. "Excuse me, Lieutenant. I need a word with Command." He then connected to Command as Adams turned around. "Command, this is Major Shepard. We've located and rescued First Lieutenant Adams' platoon and we've hit a jackpot due west of our position, requesting permission to rip it open, how copy?" He asked.

"Command to Major Shepard, permission granted. Good hunting out there Major, over and out." Command replied.

Shepard then disconnected and turned to Adams. "Well congratulations First Lieutenant, you and your men will be with us until we complete our new objective, which is pretty hard by the way." Shepard cheerily announced.

Adams looked confused for a split second before recomposing from the announcement. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean, sir." He stiffly replied.

"Ever heard of the best defense?" Shepard asked. Adams shrugged in reply and Shepard chuckled. "The best defense for the Commandos is a good offense. Intel shows that we got a hostile mobile base due west of our position, it is likely where all these Batarian sons of bitches are coming from." He then pointed at those Buffaloes. "So I say we get into those Buffaloes, drive our way there and give some hell to the enemy, what do ya say?" Shepard straightforwardly proposed.

Adams nodded in acceptance. "Hoo rah, Major. I'll go headcount my men, we should be good to go in 10 minutes after I give you a full casualty count, gather the bodies and collect their tags." He then turned around and began gathering his Marines while Shepard had Stroud's squad scavenge ammo and weapons from the dead and stockpile them into the Buffaloes.

* * *

Coalition of Ordered Governments Marine Corps

Also known as the COG Maritime Infantry, the COGMC is the COG Navy's infantry. With a planned number of two hundred double sized Divisions, or twelve hundred regular sized brigades of five thousand infantrymen, the formation of the Marine Corps has significantly curved the unemployment rate of the COG as more than ten million people (of which six million will become standard Marine riflemen) have been recruited to become the Navy's rapid reaction force.

Due to their main task as an Infantry force, the COG Marines have less than stellar armored vehicles for combat, but is compensated by large amounts of anti-tank equipment like the Jackhammer Rocket Launchers and (later, after the Siege of Heavengate) Depleted Uranium rounds. The COG Marines also have large amounts of modified Mark 3 Lancers that allow them to provide better suppression fire as an Infantry unit. The Marine Corps maintains it's own logistical system, enabling it's members to be able to constantly resupply and reequip themselves even during long range missions, making them especially useful during expeditionary missions.

COG Marines travel on the Montana Class Assault Ships, which was designed to carry one battalion of Marines, along with 300 Ospreys to transport the Marines and 1500 UAVs to carry out airstrikes for the Marines. A few hundred Marines are also stationed on Navy ships, acting as Fleet Anti-Boarding Action Security Teams (FAST).

The COG Marine Corps' Unit Formation:

_***NOTE: These number of Marines do not include soldiers from the Non-commissioned Officer Corps and Commissioned Officer Corps, thus are not the actual numbers of the Marine Corps personnel***_

MCCOM (Acronym for Marine Corps Command: Under Grand Marshal)

Expeditionary Unit (Four Divisions under a General = twelve brigades = one hundred and twenty thousand Marines)

Expeditionary Wing (Two Division under a Lieutenant General= six Brigades = sixty thousand Marines)

Division (Three Brigades under a Colonel = six battalions = thirty thousand Marines)

Brigade (Three Battalions under a Lieutenant Colonel = three Battalions = fifteen thousand Marines)

Battalion (Under a Major = five companies = five thousand Marines)

Company (Under a Captain with five platoons = one thousand Marines)

Platoon (Under a First Lieutenant with ten squads = two hundred Marines)

Section (Under a Lieutenant with four squads = eighty Marines; Redundant two squads = Command Squads under First Lieutenant)

Squad (Under a Sergeant Major with five fireteams = twenty Marines)

Fireteam (Under a Sergeant with four Marines)

* * *

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	5. A Day in the Field

Amon growled in barely controlled rage and frustration as he read the report by his ground forces through a data tablet, these upstarts were more militarily powerful and stubborn than he expected, and they were causing an unprecedented amount of trouble to him and the Hegemony. "At this rate, the High Council will certainly have my head stuck on the tip of a pike while having the slaves piss on it." He muttered under his breath in frustration and fear before turning towards his first officer, who was reading another report from the ground. "What is the status of the Southern Front?" He demanded.

The First Officer immediately turned towards him, his expression nervous. "According to our Varren Class Gunships, our thirty thousand strong armored task force has been beaten by a force of around twenty thousand enemy Infantry, they're retreating to our forward operations base that we've set up South West of the enemy base to regroup and rethink their approach as we speak." He reported dutifully, with the slightest hint of shame and shock in his voice.

Amon finally lost control of his emotions as he threw the tablet containing the reports towards the deck and raised his pistol at the First Officer, who made a step back in fear. "We had an army of THIRTY thousand men with THREE HUNDRED heavy tanks and you're telling me that an Infantry force no stronger than twenty thousand had BEATEN them?!" He bellowed in undiluted rage and shock while pushing the barrel of his pistol at the forehead of his second-in-command.

The First Officer looked as if he was about to piss and excrete at the same time in utter terror but stood as straight as possible to maintain a sense of superiority and protect what little dignity he had left around the bridge crew. "Yes sir, that is exactly what I'm saying. Our ground forces are incapable of beating their Infantry, whose equipment and training are of high-end quality even by the Turian Armiger Legions' standards." He stuttered every single one of those words as calm as he possibly could, further infuriating the Admiral.

He holstered his pistol and punched the First Officer in the guts with a punch as strong as he could possibly make, the Officer felt the air of his lungs being pushed out by the punch and knelt on the ground with one knee as he clutched his stomach in pain. Amon glared at him like a laser of death as he grabbed him by the uniform's collar and force the Officer to look at him, face to face. "You will lead what's left of our ground assets in orbit and that task force, go down onto that cursed rock and break through the enemy's southern lines, kill all of those enemy troops and sacrifice divisions' worth of our troops if you have to! I am not going to hear a single word or number from you or your men until you have done exactly as I have just ordered you to and I can order a pleasure slave delivery full of these stupid upstarts from here!" He angrily bellowed as he knee stroke the First Officer by his abdomen, causing him to fall and lie on the ground.

The First Officer slowly crawled back up to his feet in excruciating pain, saluted the Admiral and rushed out of the Bridge as quick as he could before the Admiral changed his mind and decided to give him a shot to the head. Amon sighed and turned towards his Tactical Officer. "I want Cruiser Squadron 13 prepped for intensive orbital bombardment on our Forward base. If our beloved First Officer who has just left this bridge turns to be an incompetent bastard who can't eliminate an outnumbered, outgunned and primitive enemy force, I want to make sure he and whoever they fought would die together in a hail of fire." He authoritatively ordered as he sat back down on his chair.

The Tactical Officer nodded and proceeded to direct the squadron of cruisers to their new objective. Amon looked at the planet below them while tightening his grip on his chair's machete. "This planet will be the Hegemony's after this battle, that is the one and only indisputable fact of this battle." He muttered under his breath as he saw cruisers from Cruiser squadron 13 move into their ordered positions.

* * *

The Buffalo convoy stopped, and Shepard hopped out of his Buffalo with the Commandos and the Marines. They had been driving for the last four hours and they've parked their buffaloes three kilometers from their target area while still hidden in the canyon. Shepard decided to contact Command. "Command, Shepard here. We're three klicks from the jackpot and we might need some big guns in case we decide to go boom, over." He notified.

It took a few seconds to hear a reply. "Roger that Major, we have Lieutenant Colonel Morgan on the line. She is commanding our artillery support and as long as you give her the coordinates, she'll get the job done." Command replied. "Be advised though, Guardian quadcopters above ground have eyes on at least fifteen thousand hostiles surrounding the target area, you'll need a lot more rifles to clear them out, over." They further notified.

Shepard groaned in annoyance at the mention of an overwhelmingly large force of hostiles. "Roger that Control, we'll contact you when we got our prize, Shepard out." He then disconnected and contacted Cole and Tanner. "Cole, Tanner, what's your status." Shepard asked, the backgrounds behind his two officers are surprisingly silent in comparison to the explosions rippling on his side.

Tanner was the first to reply. "We're clear of hostiles on our end."

Cole then replied as well. "Same on our side!" He reported.

"Good, then get a platoon or two of Marines and Commandos to help us out, we've located the jackpot but we got fifteen thousand assholes to kill." He ordered while also providing an estimate of the enemy troops to them. "And remember to bring a few crates of Depleted Uranium rounds!" He quickly reminded. Depleted Uranium rounds were very important to Shepard for this battle as they could penetrate even the thickest body armor and the light armor of the enemy tanks.

"Roger that, Major. We'll regroup back at HQ with two companies' worth of grunts and Commandos, gather some food and ammo, then we'll head towards your position. ETA is twenty hours if the enemy decides to take a break and dig in around their base." Cole said before disconnecting, followed shortly by Tanner.

Shepard then turned towards Carmine and Zaeed. "Fireteam Lion One and Lima Squad, form up on me! Time to familiarize ourselves with the area's shitty terrain." He ordered as he put down his Gnasher and replaced it with a Longshot. He then turned to Stroud, who was inspecting the wounds of one of the injured Marines. "Stroud, you're in command here until we're back from recon." He said.

"Yes sir!" She replied as she produced a roll of bandage from her belt pocket to begin first aid.

Shepard then turned from her and moved out, followed by the thirty one men of Commandos and Marines. They walked for an hour and found a cliff. As Shepard climbed up a cliff and found a vantage point with Zaeed, he took out his Longshot and scanned the area. He whistled at the sight. "Well, well, well, seems we got ourselves a big shot over here, looks like this battle is gonna end pretty soon." He said as he had his eyes scoped on a particular Batarian, who was in a lightweight Armor but had silver and blue trims on it, indicating a naval officer if Shepard remembered the characteristics of the Batarian military correctly.

"You sure about it, Major?" Zaeed asked beside him.

Shepard shifted his scopes from the officer. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure…. Oh fuck me." He groaned as a few dozen dropships descended from orbit and dropped off at least two hundred enemy troopers, and they looked better armed than the ones they had fought. "Shit, looks like they've got an upgrade." He said as he turned his scope on them. These Batarians had heavier armor, and had some sort of digital platings on them, but it was the sight behind those elites that disturbed Shepard. "Oh no…" He muttered in horror.

"What is it?" Zaeed asked.

"We've got slaves over there, hundreds of them." Shepard announced in a dangerously grave tone. He had thought that after the raid for Quarian slaves, he wouldn't have to deal with this again, but apparantly he was wrong. Through his scope, Shepard could see Asari slaves, Turian slaves and even Batarian slaves. "These sons of bitches are nuts, they have their own people enslaved. We need to do something before they get whipped to death." Shepard growled as he could feel his blood boil in rage. He then turned from the sight and began climbing down the vantage point, with Zaeed following him.

"Hey, why are we rescuing these assholes?" Zaeed asked. "They ain't our people and we are at war." He noted.

"They aren't, but they're still people, and that means it is our duty to give them the freedom and liberty every being deserve." Shepard calmly replied as he was halfway down the cliff, though he himself could feel that he had another reason for this action, deep in his heart.

Zaeed wasn't having any of that "Nah that is bullshit, you're just saving their asses so that you could cope with all the shit you think you had done in the Jovian Wars." he straightforwardly replied. "How many times does everyone have to tell you, that day wasn't your goddamn fault! You only did was needed to be done to save the lives an entire platoon of Gears!" He demanded.

Shepard instantly went ballistic as he stopped climbing and glared death at his former drill instructor. "I'll pretend that you didn't say anything about that day, for the sake of both our sanity and time." He said. "And I suggest you to stop making these presumptuous assumptions, or else I will file a reassignment request to send you back to the academy for an intellectual training course and a demotion, _Sergeant Major_." He warned in an almost venomous tone before continuing to climb down.

Zaeed merely sighed in disappointment and frustration as he continued climbing down. It took the two another five minutes before the two reaching the ground, where Carmine and the rest of the party were waiting and on the look out. "How did your recon mission go, sir?" He asked as Shepard's boots touched the ground.

"Oh it went pretty well, we're good if you discount the problem that there are a fuck ton of slaves over there." Shepard replied while putting his Longshot onto his back. "Come on, let's get back to the convoy before we get spotted by the enemy. We got another twelve hours before Cole and the others arrive, we'll go eat something and get some shuteye until then." Shepard then started moving quickly past the group.

Carmine seemed to have noticed that Shepard seemed different as the others began to follow their Commander and he turned his gaze towards Zaeed. "What's with him?" the Sergeant asked.

Zaeed shook his head in frustration before looking at Carmine. "Long story, but I can tell you that your boss is a self-blaming and stubborn son of a bitch." He replied as he grabbed his Lancer from his back's magnetic lockers. "So, I suggest you to look after him since I'm pretty sure he'll be going gung-ho and die a worthless death when he sees those Batarian assholes." He added before moving as well.

An hour later, they were back at the convoy and Shepard looked at the time. "Alright, we got two hours left on our clock. Let's open up our rations and take a few bites before we begin the operation, no army runs on an empty stomach after all." He ordered as he grabbed a ration pack of pepperoni and meatball spaghetti. He ripped the sealing open, smelt it and began consuming it without the usual groaning from a COG soldier.

Carmine took off his helmet and put it by his side, he then grabbed a pack of black pepper beef rice from the box of MREs and ripped the sealing off. He leaned forward to smell it before distancing himself from the military dish in the next second. "Now I remember why I quit being a grunt and joined the spec ops." He said under his breath before scooping the dish once and consuming it. "Both the smell and flavor is worse than my sister's!" He grumbled.

Zaeed chuckled in amusement and annoyance as he took a bite of his pack of creamed mushroom rice. "Stop yapping like an overgrown baby girl and eat like a true Gear, goddamn it! Or else I'll have to buy some specially tailored diapers for you." He said as he munched the food while Carmine ignored his reply. The other soldiers grabbed their ration packs and began eating, with many of them complaining about the horrendous smell and flavor.

They then chatted in many small circles and in relatively hushed tones to reduce the chances of being spotted, some of them also decided to take a nap until Tanner and Cole's forces arrived in a massive convoy of one hundred buffaloes and ten Centaurs, of which the latter was a rare sight in the Marine Corps and only used in close to medium range fire support roles. Tanner hopped out of one of the Centaur's hatches and saluted to Shepard. "Sir! Captain Tanner reporting for duty!"

Cole then exited the driver seat of one of the Buffaloes and saluted too. "Hope we're not late for the party!" He enthusiastically said as many Commandos and Marines began disgorging from their flatbed transports, with some of them carrying crates of ammunition while Guardian drones began to activate and took flight from the spacious flatbeds of some of the Buffaloes.

Shepard chuckled. "We're about to start without you two!" He replied before turning around. "Come on, I did some recon with a team while you guys were figuring out what to bring for tea so I'll show you what we're up against." He said as he began walking towards the closest buffalo of his convoy. "By the way, there is someone who would like to see you two." He added. "And that someone is Zaeed. Motherfucking. Massani." He revealed in a dramatic tone.

Cole and Tanner instantly stopped dead in their tracks at the mention of their former drill instructor, with Tanner shaking up in fear a bit. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me. I'm already having nightmares of him giving us hell during boot camp so please tell me you were joking and that that old bastard is long dead or at least retired." Tanner pleaded.

"Unfortunately for you, the man ain't kiddin'." A loud voice behind the two of them said.

The two slowly turned around and almost yelled in shock and fright at the sight of Zaeed, but they steadied themselves through sheer discipline and managed to salute. "Sergeant Major Massani, uh… good to see you!" Cole stuttered while Tanner remained silent, though Shepard could tell he was just as nervous and scared as Cole from his body language.

"Glad to see you two as well, numbskulls. Now follow your boss to do your planning before he gets pissed and send your two on a kamikaze attack." Zaeed then turned to meet and address the other Marines and Commandos while the two Special Operations Captains chased after Shepard, hoping to get away from their living nightmare as soon as possible.

Shepard waited for them on the flatbed of the Buffalo of his choice and when they arrived, he produced a holoprojector from one of the crates in the vehicle while putting down his Lancer. He activated the projector and a three dimensional model of the Batarian forward base, along with it's surroundings was produced. "Alright guys, this is the Batarian base that we'll be attacking later." Shepard said. "We found a few hundred slaves landing at the base and according to a Surveillance variant of the Guardian drones, which achieved a god's eye view of the base and is acting as a atmospheric satellite, these slaves are being scattered across the complex. Meaning the enemy is putting our empathy for the weak to their advantage as we had shown during the raid a few months back." He explained.

"Meaning we have to make as little collateral damage as possible until we extract the slaves." Cole concluded.

Shepard grinned. "Exactly, that means we have to launch a full frontal assault on the entrance with half of our Commandos, all of our Marines, Centaurs and Guardians to create a distraction and a foothold while having the rest of the Commandos flank from the rear." He said as the holoprojector showed the Base's rear. "They will be dropping from the cliff over there and land via gravity chutes, we'll then have them free the slaves and extract them via buffaloes on the main entrance." He said. "By the way, that is assuming that the plan goes according to the plan and that the Batarians don't have anymore reinforcements approaching." He clarified grimly.

"So what happens if shit hits the fan?" Cole asked.

"Well, the worst case scenario is that we'll have Lieutenant Colonel Margaret, who is providing fire support for basically all units around the area, drop a danger close barrage of explosive mortar shells around our positions, taking out a bunch of enemy troops and if we're unlucky, blowing ourselves to minced meat too." Shepard said as he deactivated the projector and threw it back to the crate with his left hand while grabbing the Lancer he had put down with his right hand.

Tanner chuckled as he grabbed his Lancer from his back and brought the chainsaw bayonet to life by squeezing of the activation trigger with his left hand. "That certainly sounds like a plan, so when do we start kicking some alien ass?"

* * *

Task Force Commander Balak of the Army exhaled in frustration and anger, the shape of the Batarian Army was far worse than he initially thought when he was effectively exiled by the accursed Admiral, as such he made it his greatest priority to whip the incompetent bastards back into a true intergalactic fighting force and have them win the day against the upstarts. "General Alarak, what's the Northern Front's status?" He asked through his Omni tool while collecting some heat sinks on a crate of supplies for his weapon.

"I've lost two battalions after the offensive operation launched by my predecessor and my troops are currently in a bloody stalemate with the enemy forces here, they've dug in deeper than a thresher maw's nest! We won't be able to move to the FOB for resupply anytime soon from the looks of the situation!" The General reported a few seconds later with the inevitable background noise of the chaotic battle in his area. "A supply drop of heat sinks for small arms would be very appreciated as the current situation may force us into a prolonged and certainly bloody trench battle, meaning a battle of attrition." He requested and explained.

Balak sighed in annoyance but also in relief, he was glad that there was at least one comparatively competent member in the Army's officer corp. "Acknowledged, I will arrange a supply drop with Admiral Amon, 314 Command out." He then disconnected and walked out of the command tent, he gazed at the scene around him and made a wide and malicious grin. Thousands of Krogan warriors cloned by that damnable Krogan Warlord Greav and tens of thousands of the expendable Vorcha had just landed and were being unloaded, along with a thousand soldiers from the Hegemony's shadowy Special Operations Unit, it was admittedly a magnificent sight to behold.

"Captain Varon!" He called out as he turned his attention from the scenery and focused on the task at hand.

A Commando with an officer's golden trim on his armor turned around and jogged towards the Batarian officer in full, when he reached his commander a dozen seconds later, he holstered his weapons and saluted. "Captain Barron, reported as ordered, sir!" He said in a surprisingly menacing voice. Balak would have been slightly intimidated if the Commando was a head taller than him.

"I want you to arrange a supply drop of small arms' heat sinks towards General's Alarak's battle lines." He ordered as he sent some coordinates towards the Captain's coordinates. "The moment they fail, we die." He added as the Captain examined the coordinates sent by his superior.

The Captain deactivated his omni-too and looked at Balak. "I'll get the job done sir to the best of my abilities as a soldier of the Hegemony!" He proudly exclaimed as he saluted.

"I'm sure you will." Balak warmly said while the Captain began turning towards one of the gunship pilots to give out the mission.

The Commander looked at the main entrance of the base, it was guarded by an entire platoon of troopers, which was extremely insufficient in Balak's opinion due to how lethal the enemy was but he had to make due thanks to the lack of time to prepare his troopers. "We won't be attacked by the enemy here, will we?" He wondered as he witnessed one of the troopers urinate on the rocky and lifeless ground of the planet.

* * *

"Gatecrasher, Colossus. This is Owl Actual, we're set, what's your ETA?" Shepard asked in the comms as he checked his wingsuit, the black gliding nano suit looked like some super thin but indestructible armor born from science fiction though it was only composed of a incredibly thin layer of artificially made Darwin Spider web, whose strength was only a fraction of the natural variant due to the numerous imperfections in the relatively new production process.

Before Shepard could hear a response, the Batarian Base's entrance was rippled with tank cannon and Lancer fire and was consumed in a magnificent explosion before Buffaloes drive through the fire in the dozens and parked behind the closest buildings they could find. "Gatecrasher Actual here, ETA is now." Tanner smugly reported as Colossus' Centaurs opened fire on the enemies in front of Gatecrasher from the ridge, destroying a few APCs and a dozen troopers.

"Colossus Actual here, overwatch is in effect. We'll make sure these bastards would keep their attention towards us while you complete the Primary objective!" Stroud reported through the comms as Colossus' units fired another volley, decimating a large group of infantry heading for Tanner's convoy.

"Be advised Owl Actual, we got Krogan and Vorcha on the field, I say again, Krogan and Vorcha are in the game!" Tanner said as Shepard heard gunfire on Tanner's end. "The former is tougher than a truck while the latter is dumber and frailer than a dog!" He added a few seconds later, one short moment before Shepard decided to reply.

Shepard chuckled as he had his Lancer latch onto his armor's magnetic locks. "Situation noted, Gatecrasher. All stations be advised, enemy shock troops have been spotted but mission objective remains unchanged. Good hunting out there, Owl Actual out." He disconnected and turned to the Commandos behind him. "Alright, men, operation is a go. We fly in there, whoop some alien asses, and rescue some other alien asses. We clear?"

"What's our ROE, sir?" Carmine asked as he grabbed his Lancer from a rock and latched it onto his back.

"All hostiles with a gun in their hands can be dropped the moment you see them, I want as little collateral damage as possible as we may compromise our targets if we go in gung-ho." Shepard explained.

"Roger that, sir." A Commando replied.

Shepard then put on his helmet and turned towards the base. "Alright commandos, move out!" Shepard ordered as he sprinted towards the edge of the ridge and jumped, he then activated the suit's wings and moments later, the wings had materialized and he was gliding like a bird.

Shepard looked behind him, all fifty Commandos were in the air. "All stations, this is Owl Actual, we're in the air, repeat we are in the air! Watch your fire, over and out." He yelled into the comms and he was seven kilometers out. Half a minute later, he was 500 meters out. "All Owls, chute, chute, chute!" He ordered as he activated his gravity chute. Ten tiny probes emerged from the wingsuit and expanded tentacles like a squid, these tentacles then connected with each other while the center of each probes began unleashing gravitational waves. The waves slowed Shepard's approach onto the base when they were 10 meters out, allowing him to land safely.

He produced his Lancer and scanned his surroundings while the other Commandos were landing a few at a time. "All stations, this is Owl Actual, we're on the ground, proceeding to target as planned." Shepard spoke into the comms as the last of the Commandos landed, he then checked his watch and widened his eyes in shock. "Can't believe it's 3 hours into Christmas already." He turned towards his men. "Alright guys, it's three o'clock in the morning now and I want this base destroyed by six in the morning, so let's move out!" He ordered.

He then sprinted to the building in front of him with eight Commandos following closely behind him while the others went for different buildings. He then tapped into the comms. "Overlord Actual, this is Owl Actual, requesting bird's eye view on the Batarian base, over." He requested as Commandos began clearing the buildings, he could hear muzzled gunfire as he waited for a reply.

His reply eventually arrived. "Owl Actual, this is Overlord. We got a Surveillance variant Guardian soaring the skies. Feel free to access it."

"Roger that Overlord, Owl Actual out." Shepard then disconnected the comms and switched his HUD's view to the drone's camera. He scanned the surrounding area for hostiles and he saw enemy troops coming in from multiple directions. "Shit!" He muttered before switching back to his Helmet HUD and connecting himself into the comms network again.

"All stations, this is Owl Actual, we've got tangos coming in from multiple directions and they're mostly mechanized infantry, ETA is less than an hour!" He warned. "Gatecrasher, we need the Command Center of the base secured ASAP, like hell are we gonna outrun those hostile reinforcements." He ordered.

"Gatecrasher here, we copy Owl Actual, we'll begin the push to towards the base." Tanner replied. "I suggest that you get those slaves out ASAP since the base's CC is pretty close to your positions, over and out." He suggested before disconnecting.

Shepard then turned towards his own fireteam of Commandos. "Alright Owl One, let's get this job done and go home!" He said as he sprinted towards the next building, Lancer in hand. The Commandos followed him and soon they were at the next building, Shepard produced a sensor grenade from his belt and threw it into a vent close located above the building's door.

The sensor activated, and around a hundred signatures spawned out from nothing into the Commandos' HUD. Shepard began assessing the situation. "We got 80 slaves inside this building, basement." He said while analyzing the data at hand. "20 hostiles, 4 in the basement and the rest are up top." He added. He turned to looked to Private Cromwell, who produced a flashbang from his belt, he then turned towards Corporeal Hugh, Sergeant Tullius, Private Lowe and Private First Class Zarkov. They nodded and silently walked towards the other entrances of the building.

It took the fireteam ten seconds to get into place, and when the team was really ready for breach, Shepard gave the word to throw the flashbang by having the door slide open. "Throwing flash!" Cromwell announced as he pulled the pin and threw the flashbang. The stun grenade rolled right in front of the Batarians and detonated, creating relatively harmless but horrifyingly effective fireworks that blinded and deafened the Batarians.

"Breach, breach, breach!" Shepard ordered as he rushed into the building and opened fire with his Lancer. His bullets found their Mark as blood splashed from the bodies of 3 Batarian soldiers. A breach charge from Tullius' side then detonated in front of Shepard, blowing the blast door away, which hit and flattened an unfortunate Batarian soldier who was in it's way. Tullius and the others then entered the building and began to systematically slaughter the alien slavers. The last of the sixteen Batarians on the floor was brutally murdered by Shepard as he fired his Lancer at his left leg and dug his combat knife deep into the alien's brain from the left, he then twisted it and pulled it out. Brain matter splattered the ground and some of the disgusting substance got onto the Major's left leg armor. "Ewww, now I need to clean myself up." He muttered before slowly going downstairs with Tullius, weapons raised.

When he was downstairs, he found the remaining four Batarian soldiers in a panic, and they were holding 80 people hostage. "Drop your weapon right now!" One of the Batarians ordered as he pointed his gun at the slaves.

"Or we'll get to see what's in her brain!" Another one claimed as he pushed his barrel harder at an Asari girl who had got to be younger than 20. The other two Batarians aimed their weapons at Tullius, who had remained calm and didn't pull the trigger yet.

"Alright, we'll drop our weapons. But let the girl go." Shepard conceded as he slowly put his Lancer down on the ground, followed by an uncertain Tullius. "Though to be honest, I've just seen what a Batarian brain is made of so I really don't give a fuck on how an Asari brain is made of." He added aloud. He then lowered his head and connected to the comms. "Target locked?" He quietly asked.

The first Batarian heard it. "Huh?" He was confused for a second before 3 high caliber rounds were fired from the ceiling, dropping him and 2 of the other Batarians and leaving the last of the four, who was one of the soldiers aiming his weapon at Tullius, alive. Tullius immediately sprang into action as he pulled the rifle from the Batarian's hand and stomped him by the knee, which broke it. The alien soldier yelled in agony as he clutched his shattered knee in pain before a kick on the left shoulder made him even more painful and miserable. As the soldier fell to the ground while on the verge of passing out, Tullius stomped his neck and broke it like a cracker being broken apart, ending the alien's misery with the swift and clean strike.

"Area is secure." Tullius reported as he picked his rifle up and inspected the area.

"Good work, Owl One, now let's begin processing the slaves." Shepard ordered as he began scanning the slaves, many of them were unsurprisingly in terrible health condition. Shepard sighed sadly before turning towards Tullius, who was directing his fireteam. "Make sure each of them gets a syringe of adrenaline, they need it." He ordered before walking back upstairs.

Once he was upstairs, he scanned the surrounding area for potential hostiles with a sensor grenade and when there were none to be seen, he tapped into the comms. "All Owl callsigns, status report." He ordered as he lied on the metal wall next to him to rest.

"Owl Two here, dry hole on our end." The team leader of Owl Two reported.

"Owl Three here, jackpot on our end, fifty slaves."

"Owl Four here, jackpot, sixty."

Slowly surely, the other teams reported and Shepherd finally had the total tally of slaves "Roger that, Owls. Regroup on my position and set up a perimeter." He then switched channels. "All stations, this is Owl Actual, 360 packages are secure but damaged, requesting MEDEVAC, over."

"Gatecrasher here, Gatecrasher Ten through Twenty are moving in with thirty Buffaloes and ten Bulldogs with Gatecrasher Two leading them, due to heavy combat on our end, ETA for escorts will be fifteen minutes. Bring the packages topside so that we can load them up quickly when the evac convoy arrives." Tanner replied as the other teams arrived with their slaves.

"Roger that Gatecrasher, Owl Actual out." Shepard then disconnected and turned to his men. "Alright, we got fifteen minutes before evac arrives so we'll dig in and wait for them." He turned towards a dead Batarian soldier and ripped his rifle out of his hand. He then approached one of the stronger slaves, the slave he chose was a Turian. "I'll be frank with all of you, we're all alone out here, with no support from anyone unless you want to risk getting blown to bits." He took the Turian's left hand and put the rifle onto his hands. "It's fight or die now people, which do you choose?" He boldly asked.

The Turian stared at Shepard, then lowered his head at his gun before gripping it hard and nodding at Shepard. The other slaves began commandeering the weapons of dead Batarian troopers and the ones in the weapon lockers. Shepard held the Turian from before's shoulder. "You're in command of these people, Turian. Keep them organised and prepped for any defenses. You will be on your own if we fail to protect you, got it?" He ordered.

The Turian nodded and began directing the slaves into the complex just as Tullius and his fireteam came back upstairs and went outside. Shepard turned towards them. "Owl One, get your asses into the northern deployable shields. We're holding this place at all costs!" He ordered.

"Wilco." Tullius acknowledged before leading his men towards one of the shields. Shepard then joined Carmine's fireteam, whose squad was settling at the East side of the complex.

"Sir." Carmine greeted.

"Sergeant." Shepard greeted back. "Found any news about your brother?" He asked as he checked his ammunition count, he was down to eighteen out of twenty of his magazines for his Lancer while he was still full on his pistol and shotgun.

Carmine quickly nodded in response. "He's still kicking, he is now assigned to Checkpoint Luna in the South, which is basically the safest possible area in the war zone." Carmine looked relieved and happy by the news.

"Good to know, soldier." Shepard said just as a Commando spoke into the comms.

"Owl Five-Five to all stations, movement on the Western perimeter. Unknowns." A Commando calmly reported.

"Roger that, keep us posted." Just as Shepard gave the order, gunfire had been heard. Shepard looked around in confusion before the comms bursted out with chatter again.

"This is Owl Ten here, hostile contact on the South! They're Krogan and Batarians. Owl Ten-Four and Owl Eleven-Three are KIA." The team leader reported through a hail of bullets swooshing behind him. "Returning fire now!" He notified before Shepard began hearing the loud explosive bang of the Lancer's high caliber bullets.

"Roger that, Owl Ten, hang tight!" Shepard ordered before switching channels. "Owl Eight, relocate to the Southern perimeter, Owl Ten and Eleven are getting hammered over there!" He ordered.

"Owl Eight here, copy that sir, relocating now." The Commando leader replied before disconnecting.

"I'm getting there, hold this position Sergeant!" Shepard said as he darted towards the Southern end of the perimeter. He soon reached the South and he witnessed Owl Ten-Three's death by a headshot, the round hit him through the helmet lens, which was weak enough to be penetrated by the high velocity round. The round then repeatedly punctured the skull of the Commando and continuously gets deflected by the helmet's interior, drilling dozens of holes in his skull.

As blood began pouring out of Ten-Three's helmet, Shepard replaced him in his vacant position and began to return fire, killing a Korgan with a burst of uranium rounds to the softer front of the head, which blew it's head apart. He then rapidly turned his aim on his next target, who was a Batarian. The Major fired a six round burst at the soldier's chest. Just as the rounds were about to reach the Batarian, a digital armor suddenly appeared and solidified into some sort of hard light or glowing silicon. Three of the rounds hit the digital armor and shattered it while the rest impacted the armor the Batarian. The rounds exploded as it impacted the chest platings, causing two pieces of platings to fall off but leaving the target alive and slightly stunned.

The other Batarians then turned their attention towards Shepard and opened fire, forcing him back into cover. As Shepard ducked behind his shield, he turned towards Ten-Lead, who saw what happened and was stunned. "What the hell sir?! That asshole tanked six rounds and was still standing! The kinetic shockwave alone should have pulverized the guy's ribs and organs!" He said.

"Looks like these guys are either some golden boys or they've just got upgraded!" Shepard assumed. "Let's show them what the COG's largest Spec Ops body can do, people!" He called out loud before leaving cover and began firing again. This time he fired at the Batarian soldier with twelve rounds, finally killing him. He then switched his target on a charging Krogan, the Major fired a full ten rounds at the physically imposing alien's helmeted head. All ten of the uranium rounds bounced off his helmet but the kinetic shock did hurt him as evident by his roar of rage.

The Krogan then charged even faster and Shepard aimed for his left leg, he fired a six round burst on his knee and dismembered it. The Krogan fell and left an opening to his head's rear, which was exploited by Shepard by firing half of what was left of his magazine at the juggernaut, killing him. He then returned to cover only to see Eight-Two getting shot in his left shoulder by a Batarian soldier just as the Commando went out of cover, leaving him wounded and combat-incapable.

"This is Owl Five on the North, we got hostiles all over the damn complex! Engaging!" He heard someone reporting over the comms before more gunfire could be heard over the distances.

"Owl Actual to Gatecrasher, where the hell is that damn evac!? I got KIA and WIA requiring CASEVAC now!" Shepard yelled desperately as he connected to the comms the comms since he began seeing Batarian troops coming in from the Western and Eastern sides of the perimeter.

"We're working on it, sir!" Tanner hastily replied.

"Then work harder! We won't even last five minutes if the assault goes on!" Shepard yelled again before angrily disconnecting the channel. He then left cover to shoot again but was shot in his right shoulder pad, causing him to fall. He quickly recovered from the shot as it was a graze to his shoulder platings and stood back up, he fired three bursts of six rounds into the enemy force, with all shots finding their mark. He then landed back into cover and ejected his spent magazine, he produced a new one from his ammo pouch and expertly slammed it into the Lancer as if it was daily exercise. When Shepard was about to leave cover and shoot once again, an explosion from the detonation of a rocket occurred right in front of him, hurling him and Ten-Lead, who was right next to him, away towards the complex. He hit the walls of the complex and felt dizzy from the concussion, he tried to look for Ten-Lead, only to vaguely see his lifeless and mangled body lying on the ground with splattered blood on the wall he had probably impacted onto, which would have explained the blood and the state of the corpse.

He shook his head and quickly recovered from the concussion. "Goddamnit, all Owl call signs, fall back into the complex! We're sitting ducks out here!" Shepard ordered as he crawled back up and fired his Lancer again. He then watched as his Commandos began retreating into the complex, he soon followed his men as he rushed towards the complex entrance. He leaped though a shattered shield, and then slid into the door as the last of the Commandos retreated into the complex. A Commando then slammed his fist at a digital panel and the doors slammed shut, leaving the breach hole Tullius made earlier the only way in and out.

Shepard caught his breath as he turned towards his Commandos, at least twelve of his Commandos were dead. "All callsigns, status report via data transfer." He ordered as he began administering first aid to Eight-Two, whose injured arm was bleeding profusely.

His men immediately transferred data about their statuses to his HUD and the more he read, the greater his grimace became. He then dismissed the data by mentally ordering the AI to archive them into the armor memory banks and connected into the comms. "Gatecrasher be advised, Owls have been overrun and are holding up in RV building." He calmly said before exhaling and then inhaling. "And get that damn convoy here now, before there is nothing left to evacuate!" He said as he disconnected without waiting for a reply from the Marines.

"Alright men, dig up and prep for a stand. The slaves can defend themselves but they hold a greater priority over our own lives so protect them at all cost, clear?" He expectantly asked.

"Pure diamonds, sir." Carmine replied before the Commandos started finding a defensible corner to defend.

* * *

"Come on Gatecrashers, double time it before there's no Owl left to save!" Cole hurriedly ordered as he ran towards the RV. With Shepard's unit trapped, the entire mission got compromised. And now it was Cole and his unit's task to make sure the mission doesn't end in failure.

"Contact up ahead, Krogan and Vorcha!" A Marine called out. Cole turned towards the front and saw around ten Korgan and fifty Vorcha coming straight at them. They opened fire first and one Commando, as well two Marines, fell victim to their volley.

"Find cover!" Cole quickly ordered as he began running towards the right while firing blindly at the enemy force. The COG soldiers quickly dispersed and went towards different directions for cover while returning fire. The return fire hit and killed five Vorcha while Cole began to focus his fire on a helmetless Korgan.

He fired a six burst at a Krogan's left abdomen, the rounds impacted the armor of the alien and detonated, sending deadly shrapnel into his body. Despite the supposedly lethal damage he had taken, the Krogan merely shrugged the bullets and moved on, much to the Captain's utter shock and dismay. He then fired a three round burst at the Krogan's head, blasting its soft head shell apart and spilling brain matter all over the ground as the hulking alien went limp and fell to the ground.

The other Krogan began firing at Cole in anger and with a thirst for vengeance, forcing him back into cover, which was a half transparent digital barricade. As he ducked behind cover, he realised that their greatest strength was also their greatest weakness. "These big guys are tough on the largest mass but a lot softer in the unhelmeted head and probably the legs too!" He said as he began transmitting combat data to his troops.

The Commandos and Marines paused for a while as they read the data."Let's take them out people!" A Commando then said as he peeked out of cover and fired on the legs of a helmeted Krogan, the alien's left leg got dismembered as explosive rounds dig into his knee and detonated, his weight did the rest as it unbalanced him, causing him to fall. The Korgan roared in rage before a Marine fired two consecutive bursts of six rounds into his helmeted head's rear, brutally ending his life.

Two Krogan then charged at Cole in rage, who spent his entire magazine into the berserking alien. The rounds continuously hit the Krogan's armor platings and it soon crumbled and fell off under the continuous damage. The Krogan was then ripped apart from the inside as explosive bullets darted deep into his flesh and detonated, blowing his innards into mushes of meat. The other Krogan continued charging and reached Cole's cover, he barged through the barricade in a fit of rage and threw his shotgun away with the intent of brutally murdering the COG Captain with his fists. He tried to slam his fist into Cole's chest but the Commando Officer evaded the punch by side stepping towards the right, he then swept the Krogan's leg with a kick, causing the hulking berserker to fall to the ground.

As the stunned reptilian tried to stand up, Cole stepped on his back and grabbed his Gnasher. Without saying another word, he stuck it's barrel onto the alien's head and pulled the trigger, the alien's head immediately became meat sauce as the shotgun shell got ejected from the chamber. Cole then took a step back and drew his pistol, firing and killing six Vorcha with it.

The Gatecrashers then began pushing forward, killing the remaining Vorcha along the way. The last Krogan of the group attempted to take two Commandos with him but before he could pull the trigger of it's shotgun, he was gunned down by the collective firepower of five Marines and three Commandos. "Area clear!" One of the Commandos called out as he inspected the dead bodies of the Krogan with his scanner.

"These things got tough armor and redundant organs, no wonder they were so hard to kill." Cole noted and realised as he scanned the bodies too. "Salvage whatever weapons we can carry from these guys, R and D would appreciate the new projects." He ordered as he collected the shotgun of the dead Krogan. The Marines then began collecting the weapons and after collecting around a dozen weapons, Cole ordered them to move on.

"Gatecrasher Two-Lead, this is Buffalo Three-Five, we're taking a lot of fire on Gatecrasher Actual's side, when can we move and pick up the packages, over?" The Buffalo convoy's commander asked over the comms.

"Three-Five, this is Two-Lead, negative on move out, RV is hot! Repeat, RV is not clear! Do not move until I give the word!" Cole replied as he continued jogging with his men towards the objective, he then disconnected and turned towards his men. "Alright people, Buffaloes are taking fire and if we don't clear the enemy out soon, they'll be burning hulks so let's get this job done in fifteen minutes, Hoorah?" Cole said.

"Hoorah, sir!" His men replied as expected from them.

They were soon behind the enemy forces that were besieging Shepard's position, Cole scanned the area with a sensors grenade and connected into the comms when the results were transmitted into his HUD. "Owl Actual, this is Gatecrasher Two, we have visual on the RV, do you require assistance over?" He asked.

"Owl Actual here, get your asses down here and help us out already!" Shepard yelled in reply while the sound of gunfire flooded The background.

Cole chuckled in amusement. "Roger that, Actual, Gatecrasher is moving in to assist." He then disconnected and turned towards his men. "Alright Gatecrashers, let's do some gatecrashing and get those boys out of there!" He ordered as he began running towards a barricade erected in the rear of the enemy lines by the Commandos. Cole ducked into it and took a grenade from his belt, he pulled the pin and threw it out. "Two-Lead, throwing frag!" He called out as the frag hit the dirt near a trio of Batarian troops and detonated, sending shrapnel flying and killing many enemy troops.

Three dozen Batarians and a few dozen other Vorcha turned their fire on the reinforcing COG soldiers, forcing them into cover. Despite the quick reaction from the COG troopers, the return fire killed two Marines and three Commandos, one of them was next to Cole and he witnessed his death as he was ripped to pieces by dozens of rounds. As Cole continued ducking under cover to avoid the hail of fire, he connected to the comms. "Major, this is Gatecrasher Two, we relieved some pressure on your east flank so we would be very appreciated if you launch a counterattack and get those assholes by their rears!"

"Owl Actual here, we noticed, hang on we're moving out!" Cole could hear a chuckle in the reply and moments later, the signature gunfire sound of Lancer intensified on Shepard's end. Cole threw a sensors grenade towards the Batarian lines, and then signatures started popping into existence in his HUD.

"Owl Actual, Gatecrasher Two, sending additional combat data to your systems now, hope that'll help!" He said as he sent the new information to Shepard. He then hopped out of cover and began advancing with his Lancer roaring death at the enemy. As he gunned down another Batarian, he received Shepard's thanks as well as another set combat data on a newly upgraded Batarian trooper. He soon found one himself and with precision that would make a Sniper in the Army gawk, he fired a steady burst at the Batarian's head, ending his life as the bullets exploded right at his face.

The enemy force was soon annihilated by the combined efforts of the COG troops and Shepard came out to meet Cole. "Thanks for the assist, Cole. Remind me to buy you some beer when we're on shore leave." He said as they shook hands.

"You're going broke, sir!" Cole happily replied just as the Buffalo convoy arrived.

A driver from the front Buffalo dropped down and walked towards the two. Before he reached them however, a headshot penetrated his helmet and killed him. Hostiles moving in!" Shepard yelled as the driver's body hit the ground. The soldiers moved into cover and Shepard threw multiple sensors grenades. The amount of hostile troops there was unbelievable.

"Holy shit…" Cole muttered in shock when he saw the numbers being thrown at him.

"Carmine, Tullius, Get the slaves on the convoy, pronto." He ordered before turning to Cole. "We'll push on and providing a loud distraction for them!" He said as he went out of cover and began firing at the enemy. The other Gears then left cover and joined the charging assault as well as Carmine and Tullius' troops hurried the slaves into the Buffaloes.

After fifteen minutes of fighting, the convoy was good to go. "All slaves accounted for, sir!" Tullius reported in the comms as the last slave was pulled into the Buffalo by the Commandos.

Shepard smiled at that "Good, your fireteams will escort them to Gatecrasher, now go, now! Before we get overrun" He ordered as a Marine next to him got riddled with bullets by the enemy. Shepard avenged him as he grabbed the fallen Marine's tactical Lancer and fired it's rocket launcher at the enemy lines, killing more than a dozen in the blast

A moment of silence reigned the comms before Tullius acknowledged the order and disconnected. As Shepard ducked into cover and looked behind him, he saw the convoy moving out towards the Main entrance. He then connected himself into the comms. "Lieutenant Colonel Morgan, this is Major Shepard, requesting artillery bombardment at these coordinates! And they better be here soon!" He said as he transmitted multiple sets of coordinates towards Morgan's unit.

Morgan seemed to had received it and replied moments later. "Roger that, Major, we'll launch KE rounds to give you the boom you need without putting the place on fire. Standby." She calmly replied as Shepard began hearing mortar fire from her side of the battle.

Mere seconds later, a dozen arrow shaped mortar shells were seen high above the air, they then suddenly split into five sharp projectiles each and then with a mini thruster, they accelerated towards the ground at high speeds, the ground where the Batarian troops were dug in, to be precise. The resulting kinetic shockwave was devastating as they reduced the enemy troops to blueish mush with a disturbingly blue mist that smelled bloody surrounding the aftermath of the scene, Shepard and his men had to fully seal their suits' respiratory systems in order to get that hideous odor away from their noses. He then connected into the comms towards Morgan. "Lieutenant Colonel, Shepard here, all shots on target, thanks for the assist!" He thanked as Cole led the others to clear the area for anymore hostiles.

"You're welcome, Shepard, you can buy me a beer when we're…" Morgan didn't finish her reply as suddenly, a dozen streaks of light became visible on the sky and hit her position, creating a massive explosion over it, with a mushroom cloud being created over it.

Shepard and those who saw it were paralyzed by the shock stemming from the sudden explosion, the Major then recovered from it and called for the Lieutenant Colonel. "Lieutenant Colonel? Lieutenant Colonel Morgan! Come in goddamnit!" He frantically and desperately called as more streaks of lights hit Morgan's position again, creating another explosion.

A new signature suddenly appeared in the comms network , and it belonged to the Command Center of the Marine Corps. "This is General Philips to all units in the AO, hostile orbital bombardment has been sighted and confirmed! All units are to fall to back HQ immediately, where planetary shields have been erected to prevent a bombardment!" The General ordered.

Shepard had to ask the question. "Sir, what's Lieutenant Colonel Morgan's status? I lost contact with her when the orbital bombardment began." He asked while Cole had the men organized and prepared for a tactical retreat.

It took the Major a long and agonising five seconds to hear the General's reply. "Sorry to day this but she's gone, Major." He solemnly confirmed. "Intel gathered from nearby Guardian drones confirms it, no survivors visible nor are there any vital signs detected in the bombed area." He explained. "She's dead."

"God fucking damnit!" Shepard bellowed in rage as he slammed his fist at the nearby wall, creating a wide crack on it. "Sir, we can't let this fly, we need to retaliate and blow those motherfuckers outta the sky, now!" He practically yelled.

"We can't. Our orbital guns are all blown up, son; our drone fleets can only harass the enemy; and now with Morgan's unit gone, we lost our artillery support." Philips tiredly countered. "As much as I hate to say this, the only way for us to survive now, is to dig in at the base." He said. "So get back here ASAP!" He ordered before disconnecting.

Shepard sighed in anger and resignation before switching towards a new channel. "Any transport call signs in this vicinity, this is Major Shepard here, me and around a hundred men require evac immediately, be advised, we also require CASEVAC, multiple KIA and WIA!" He said.

"Major, this is Bulldog One-Five, we were just about to leave. We're re-diverting towards your position now, ETA: three minutes." A voice spoke into the comms.

Shepard sighed in relief. "Roger that, One-Five, Shepard out." The Major replied as he looked at the mushroom cloud on Morgan's position, the Batarians would pay, of that he was very sure of.

* * *

**Codex**

**Siege of Heavengate**

**Date: 22nd December to 26th December, 2131**

The Battle of Heavengate was considered by many to be the darkest days of Humanity since the days of the Jovian Wars. The siege began when thousands of Batarian ships launched an attack in retaliation towards the COG's raid to liberate thousands of slaves on the planet of Torfan, taking a large chunk of the Hegemony's workforce. The Batarian fleet in question was the Batarian Third Fleet under Fleet Admiral Amon, who was known across Citadel Space to be one of the most ruthless and corrupted Batarian officers in the Military.

The token defense fleet of around two hundred drone ships engaged the enemy over orbit but was forced to retreat after sustaining severe casualties but inflicted hundreds of casualties on the Batarian fleet itself, the Batarians then launched a full scale planetary invasion on the planet with more than a million Batarian troops and tens of thousands of mercenaries from the Blood Pack. The COGMC, consisting of less than two fifth of the troops the Batarians had put forth, set up defensive choke points and utilized their large amount of unmanned assets in hopes of delaying the enemy until the COG relief force arrives.

The COG administration dispatched a massive fleet under Admiral Hackett and a massive Army under General Hoffman to relieve the desperate force but they sent two battalions of Commandos under Major Shepard and Major Gregory in advance. Once there, Major Shepard launched a series of attacks on the Batarian forces, inflicting casualties far greater than any officer had ever done in human history, but the Batarian Fleet then utilized their orbital supremacy and unleashed orbital bombardment on the planet, killing half of the Marine Corps' officer cadre and killing Gregory. The remaining COG forces retreated to the protection of the Marine Corps' base as a planetary umbrella was set up there and Batarian forces began laying a two day siege until COG reinforcements arrived.

By the 26th December, COG forces have completely eliminated the enemy invasion force and the battle had finally ended with a third of the Marine Corps' personnel and less than a thousand Commandos dead. The Army and the Navy suffered extraordinarily low casualties as they joined at the later stages of the battle, losing less than ten thousand personnel in total with most of the losses coming from the Navy's destroyed ships.


	6. Hiatus

Hello guys,

I'm announcing a temporary hiatus simply because of the recent social and political turmoil of Hong Kong. I can't be sitting in an armchair pretending that this will pass soon while my classmates, schoolmates, and friends all give up their future to protect the future of the city.

The police here are now no better than thugs and the so-called rule of law has ceased to exist when the police had become a political tool instead of fairly enforcing the law. A few of the better examples would be the many incidents of pro-government people and triads beating up pro-movement people and can get away while the victims get charged with unlawful assembly and riots.

Excessive force on the police had also been met with continued protection from the government; until now there had been more than one thousand complaints to the Independent Police Conduct Commission with none of those complaints being successful even with solid evidence of them being excessive in the application of force. What is the matter with an Independent Commission of Inquiry into this incident? Why is the government so resistant to such an idea?

Then we have the recent Chinese spy defecting to Australia thingy, I want to commend the guy for revealing the long-known fact that the Chinese Communist Party has been actively interfering with other countries' political affairs with concrete evidence and proving them being a bunch of hypocrites.

And this may be a bit controversial or even treasonous as Wumaos like to say, is that I want to thank the United States of America for standing up to us when we are in our darkest time. Hopefully, the new bills can help us in our struggle against the true enemy.

Why do we have to give our lives for democracy? It's the most basic human right that we as humans should have! I just don't understand how many people can easily blind their judgment and ignore their conscience when there is the (false) promise of wealth, is that what should we really be? Someone who puts wealth over conscience? If that's the case, then you can come and kill me.

Lastly, Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times!

Kevin


	7. Deliverance and Humuliation

**So as most, if not all of us know, my great Chinese 'comrades' up north have either made a P4 bioweapon that's accidentally gone loose or some dumbass ate stuff that wasn't supposed to be eaten. As a result of this, we get the lovely COVID-19 this year as our greeting gift from God knows what. ****Due to COVID-19's damage, school here has been suspended and the protests have gone relatively inactive when you account for the fact that people are now buying masks to help each other out (not you smurf twats).**

**So the school, as malicious as always, have decided to give me an entire month's worth of homework to do but because I work fast, I got a lot of free time so I'm writing this chapter to let you guys know that I'm alive and well (yay Smurfs, happy to see me alive or pissed? :D) and to let you guys know right now that my schedule will be highly irregular from now on.**

***Do note that I didn't check this chapter thoroughly because I'm not in the mood for that sort of shit and my writing has gone relatively rusty due to being inactive for quite some time.**

**Now, enjoy and remember to point out the many quintillion problems of this story with a review.**

* * *

"Do not worry, Admirals. We have the situation in the Heavegate system under control. The COG never loses control over these… Trivial matters" Prescott tiredly reassured and soon regretted his choice of words as the Quarian Admirals gaped in shock over the President's blatantly bold and seemingly unconcerned statement.

"Under control? You call this… This catastrophe under control? You have a military base under siege, Mr. President, a large one at that and if you lose that base, your homes will be next. If you win the day, you'll lose the next!" Gerrel literally roared in panic.

"While I must apologize for Admiral Gerrel's more… Aggressive statement, Mr. President. I have to agree with him on this. If the Batarians are defeated in this battle, they will most certainly take this case to the Council, who will be forced to send invasion fleets in order to keep the Batarians." Koris said while glaring at Gerrel.

"As terrible and unreliable allies as the Batarians are, they are the only political entity that is keeping the Council's influence in the Terminus Systems and thus putting the criminal scum of the galaxy on a leash, albeit a loose one." Admiral Raan added. "It's the only reason why the Batarians still have not been invaded by the Turians yet."

Prescott glanced at the Secretary of Defence, then at Admiral Michaelson, before looking at the Quarian Admirals. "I have much to discuss with my cabinet, Admirals. I'm afraid we'll have to reconvene at a later time." Prescott said as he gestured for his six guards to escort the Quarian representatives out.

"Admirals, this way please." The lead guard politely said as he turned to leave the conference room. The Quarian Admirals reluctantly stood up, uncertain and at the same time fearful of the President's next decision, and followed the guards out.

As the last Quarian in line left and the door behind him slammed shut, Prescott sighed. "This is one big clusterfuck." He muttered in frustration. Neither he, nor the rest of High Command, had ever expected the Batarians to locate their base and launch their retaliatory strike in such a quick manner. "I want options on the table, people. Now." He demanded with a slight raise in his voice.

The Secretary of Defence raised his hand. "Sir, we should vote for the activation of Article 5…" He hesitated in his statement, it was only when Prescott turned towards him and gestured him to go on did he continue. "The Quarians said that we would incur the wrath of the Citadel Armada either way, so the best thing we could do now is to prepare ourselves to face this threat." He elaborated. "Better die prepared than unprepared."

"But that would violate everything that we stand for! When the COG was founded, our founders took an oath to maintain freedom and democracy for the people! Announcing a national emergency with the weak argumental basis of a 'First Contact gone wrong' could result in a huge public backlash, from both the people and the political stage!" The Secretary of Justice said in a concerned tone.

"But if we relent, there will be neither democracy nor freedom left for us." Chief of Special Operations Mendez calmly countered. "They are slavers, I do not see any reason for the scum of the galaxy to leave us be even if we abide by their every desire. We're the direct opposite of each other and war is inevitable between the two of us."

"I agree with Mendez, when I joined the military, I took an oath to protect the ideals of the COG, the ideals of freedom and liberty that our founders have dreamt of when Earth was finally unified." Michaelson lamented as he turned to look at Prescott in the eye. "I will not let this ideal crumble on my watch, sir!" He frimly stated.

"This article wasn't activated even during the Jovian Wars…" The Secretary of Foreign Affairs said but was cut off with a daggering glare from the Supreme Commander of the Army.

"Goddamnit, Roberts! There won't be anything left for us when they're at our doorstep. Two thousand years of galactic governance has made the Council complacent and addictive with power and dominance! What do you think they'll give us when we negotiate? A recognition to our sovereignty as a nation? They'll just strip us of our fleets, our armies and replace them with the Turians! We will be left defenceless and the democracy we hold so dear will start to crumble to ashes!" He practically yelled.

"Is that what you want? A Humanity that is a defenceless lapdog of some arrogant and prideful politicians who've been sitting their asses, abandoning or preying over weaker races in order to maintain the mask of a benevolent and caring leader for the last two millennia?" He further asked with reference to the Council's abandoment of the Quarians.

Roberts was about to retaliate when Prescott lightly knocked the table. "Enough!" Prescott grumbled in annoyance. Everyone in the room turned to face the President. "Johnston, I prefer that you stop your questioning before this devolves into a brawl between two of my most crucial advisors in ,ilitary and diplomatic matters." He said. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." He firmly stated.

As the two started calming down, Prescott made an exhale. "I have made my descision." He started in a slow manner. "I don't want to see the nation our founders toiled to build a century ago crumble because of some space slavers harassing us, so war it is." He decided.

"The question that remains now is that what do we tell the House of Representatives and by extension, our citizens. They have a right to know what they're up against but concurrently, we can't let out too much information or it may ruin everything we had struggled to build." He said in contemplation.

"Maybe tell them about the Batarians? Or maybe the Citadel?" Michaelson suggested.

Mendez chuckled and shook his head. "I think neither, Mr. President." He said.

"What are you proposing, Mendez?" Prescott asked, curiosity sparkling his mind as he looked at the old Chief.

"I propose that we tell our 'great' politicians and our people a story, but first we'll have to have some help from the Quarians and from the information gathered in Heavengate." He said.

* * *

*_Three days after the first Bombardment_*

"Major Shepard!" A voice yelled from behind Shepard. Shepherd, who was busy organizing some of the frontline's efforts to stall the enemy, turned towards the source of the call. It was Lieutenant Adams.

He then turned towards the two NCOs and motioned their dismissal before turning back towards Adams. "What is it, Lieutenant?" He asked after he dismissed the two Sergeant Majors.

"General Philips requests that you meet him in CIC now. He said there is word from High Command." Adams replied.

"Why didn't you call me on the comms?" Shepherd said as he put on his helmets and loaded his rifle.

"We did. In fact, we called you five times and you didn't accept them so the General figured that you're probably too distracted in directing our troops and supplies, which is why he sent me after you." Adams explained.

Shepherd raised an eyebrow at Adams' before checking with his combat AI for communications requests, he found five missed calls. "Well, I'll be damned… Sorry about that, tell the General that I'll be with him in five." He apologized as he began jogging towards the command center. Ever since Major Gregory and most of the senior officer corps were killed in the constant bombardments, Shepard had been working non-stop like a machine, he was half-glad that he could finally do something other than logistics.

As Shepard jogged, he started seeing wounded Marines lying all around outside the hospital. He made a full stop and looked around. "This is messed up, " He mumbled. No man, in his opinion, should ever be treated like this, be they dead or alive.

"It's beyond messed up, sir." Someone from behind corrected. Shepard turned around and was slightly delighted to see Stroud.

"Helen," Shepard greeted.

"Sir, " Stroud returned the gesture.

"So… Why are the wounded all lying around here? Hospital entrance is just a few steps away." Shepard implored.

"No idea, best bet is that the hospital is strained to the very limit with the continuous influx of wounded from the frontlines, so we don't have enough beds to care for all of them," Stroud replied. "Guess the top brass never foresaw that the Batarians would retaliate this quick and to be fair, neither did I." She added as she made a shrug. "They caught us flat-footed."

Shepard didn't ponder much over Stroud reply as a thought crossed his mind. "Oh right, where are Cole and Tanner?" Shepard asked as a few moments after her reply.

"They are over at the CIC, I was heading there too until I bumped into you," Stroud said in response.

Shepard chuckled. "Well guess you're with me, now." He said and before Stroud could inquire why Shepard continued. "Command called for me too."

The Commando Captain shrugged. "Well alright then." She said. "Lead the way, Major."

Shepard then started walking with the Captain closely behind. They soon reached the Command Center's entrance, where four Marines stood guard there. Shepard presented his Military ID to them and the lead Marine closely inspected it and then scanned it with a wrist ID authenticator, she returned the ID card and saluted afterwards.

"The General's expecting the two of you." She said as her team stepped aside to allow the two through.

Shepard didn't reply, he instead immediately walked through the groaning blast doors and into the command center itself. As he walked in its corridors, he could see officers and support personnel rushing around, giving situational reports to one another while attempting to sort out all the problems. A minute later, they reached the war room, where Cole, Tanner and Philips in addition to a few other Officers were discussing their next move in the battlefield.

Shepard and Stroud saluted. "You're late, " Philips simply said without even looking at them.

"Sorry about that, we took a slight detour around the hospital." Shepard apologized before looking at a holographic figure next to the holomap. "Who do we have here?" He asked.

"That, my friend, is Admiral Hackett of the United States Second Fleet." Philips said as he turned towards the American Admiral. "Admiral Hackett, this is Major Shepard." He introduced.

"Major, " Hackett greeted.

"A pleasure to meet you, Admiral, though it would have been much better had circumstances permitted so." Shepard said

"On that, I agree, " Hackett replied. "Anyways, I've good news for you boys." He said as the holomap warped itself to form the battlespace on orbit. "My fleet has just arrived and we're over at the system's edge. Our grand entrance attracted some company so we'll be engaging their main fleet in approximately twenty minutes, when we reach the asteroid belt five million kilometers from Heavemgate."

"I see, what of General Hoffman's ground troops?" Shepard inquired. "It is said that his battleground tagged along." He noted.

"General Hoffman is in a troop transport, as is his battlegroup. They grouped up with us in thirty transports and are under our escort. The enemy would gun them down the moment they leave formation, so we're diverting two squadrons of Escort Carriers, each filled with a company of ODTs, to circle around the asteroid belt and make towards the planet at full speed, they'll enter orbit and launch a by the book shock and awe assault while providing air supremacy for you. Those Helljumpers will need coordinates if you don't want them to end up in a pile of sand and rock," Hackett explained.

"Do we have an ETA for them?" Cole asked, the entire room turned towards him. "With the pressure the enemy is giving us, we need the timing on when to launch a counterattack as precise as possible." He elaborated. "We can't afford another failed assault."

"I agree with Captain Cole, we're only holding the lines now because we have a well formed defense line. If we divert manpower to launch a badly timed assault, our losses would be catastrophic, let alone causing unwanted repercussions like an accelerated crumbling of our defense lines." Stroud said.

"Hmmm, you have a point…" Hackett lowered his head, contemplating before looking back up. "I'll make sure that your reinforcements will arrive in ten hours." He assured before disconnecting, leaving the Marine and Commando Officers to discuss their counterattack.

"Bring up the battlemap." Philips ordered as the holomap warped into the map surrounding Heavengate Base. "We have one hundred thousand able-bodied men around the battlements. How many should we divert to launch our counter strike?" He asked.

"I think fifty troops would do." Tanner said. "The enemy will expect us to make a break for it as they probably know we're low on food and water." Tanner explained. "We've been fighting a battle of attrition for a long time and it's just a matter of time before we are at our limit."

"And how does that justify sending half a hundred pair of boots towards the enemy lines?" Philips asked.

"They're objective won't be shooting the enemy, but their task do involve moving under the catacombs of the rock under the enemy." He pressed a few buttons and the holomap became a map of natural runnels. "Every planet we own has a hot molten core and this one is no exception. And these tunnels have a few dozen relatively unstable lava rivers." He said.

Shepard started to get Tanner's idea, and he was starting to like it. "Are you suggesting that we place sonic bombs over one structually critical spot that would be enough to cause an entire piece of the landmass to sink deeper into the continental crust while also spilling them out towards the open area occupied by the enemy?" Shepard solicited.

"Congratulations sir, you've just successfully read my mind." Tanner casually replied while Cole smirked. Tanner then turned to General Philips. "By doing so, we could devoid the enemy of an entire battlefront, allowing us to divert our men there to support the other front, which should be enough for us to launch a counterattack of massive scale even if the enemy forces in the denied zone divert to the other side." He masterfully concluded.

Philips nodded, pleased with the tactically sound plan. "Alright, let's get to work then!" He declared. "Major Shepard, you and Captain Tanner will choose half a hundred of our best men for this mission while Captain Stroud, Cole and our remaining officers will direct the required efforts to prepare our counterattack." He ordered. "Clock is ticking quick people, let's show those bastards what the whipped cream of the COG is capable of!"

* * *

As Hackett disconnected from the Holo transmission, Captain Anderson went to his side. "Sir, you do know that we can't send that squadron of ships until the enemy fleet is destroyed, right?" He asked, gaining the attention of the entire CIC.

Hackett simply nodded in response as he stood still with his head lowered in contemplation.

"Then why did you…"

"I did it because it's the only way I could think of to give them hope. They're on the brink of collapse and as history proved over and over again, high moral is the only thing that can keep someone in the fight." He turned towards his officers.

"The only thing we can do right now…" He pointed at the direction where the Batarians fleet was coming. "Is to defeat the incoming enemy fleet with everything we've got, then make haste for Heavengate." He finished with a slam to the Red Alert button.

"Hoo ya!" Everyone in the room shouted as they darted to their stations to prepare for battle.

"So Admiral Hackett, why lure the enemy forces into the asteroid field? The asteroids could blow us up sky high." Anderson silently asked, his tone full of uncertainty.

"The asteroids won't hit us, because we won't be going into the asteroids, Captain Anderson," Hackett replied in a relatively cryptic way, gaining the attention of all the tactical officers within CIC.

"Sir?" Anderson said, not understanding the meaning behind the Admiral's reply.

"The asteroid will provide us with ample cover from the enemy fleets' fire while they would be forced to redirect their kinetic barriers to defend against the asteroids," Hackett said.

An officer wanted to raise his concerns but the Admiral cut him off with a single finger gesturing him to keep his mouth shut. "Yes, the asteroids will also provide ample cover for the enemy from our own fire, which is why we'll deploy All Terrain Multi-purpose Assault Tanks in Hoffman's transport to hide in the asteroids. Their power levels are too minimal to be detected by shipboard radars, or at least undetectable by our radars." He explained.

"But sir, those legged tanks are for terrain, not the vacuum of space!" Anderson exclaimed, shocked at what the Admiral was suggesting.

"Well, you could technically argue that vacuum is a type of terrain..." An officer who agreed with Hackett reluctantly said.

Hackett then patted Anderson's left shoulder. "Don't worry, Captain! It's only because my definition of 'terrain' is more inclusive than others'." He said as he walked to sit on his chair, waiting for his fleet to deploy the needed assets.

"Admiral, Ospreys are deploying ATMATs towards the asteroids as ordered." A tactical officer reported three minutes later.

"Good, send 50 of them to each of these specific asteroids while having the rest spread across the field. Also, have the fleet adopt Formation Bowl, I want maximum weaponry coverage around the asteroid field by the time the enemy reaches the belt, and I want all fighters prepped for rapid deployment! F-35X Unmanned Fighters will provide screening for our F-71 Thunderhawks, and I want all assets to have their ion weapons and bombs primed and ready." Hackett ordered.

"Sir, those are non-lethals!" An officer noted. "They won't destroy the enemy!" He protested.

"I said defeat, not destroy the enemy fleet, Ensign." He emphasized the word 'defeat' as he replied. "Besides, we can't be totally certain which is the enemy flagship since the Quarians' information is likely to be outdated and these lance-shaped ships look all the same to me." He explained.

"We need Intel and this enemy fleet here is a gold mine of intel, so we're beating them intact," Hackett concluded with a tone that left no room for argument.

"Sir, yes sir." The officer mumbled.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and everything was ready. Hackett ordered everyone to wait and soon, the Batarians fleet have entered the asteroids. "Sir, hostile fleet has entered the asteroid belt." A sensors officer reported.

"Inform me once they reach the Delta Quadrant. Tactical, launch all fighters." Hackett ordered.

Hackett stared at his tactical display as tens of thousands of fighters' Friend or Foe tags materialized near his fleet carriers. He then beamed a smile as the enemy fleet began speeding towards his fleet and deploying their own contingent of fighters. The enemy has been baited.

"Sir, the enemy fleet has reached the Delta Quadrant and their fighter contingent is moving to intercept our fighters!" The sensory officer reported.

"The trap is sprung, then," Hackett muttered to no one in particular before lifting his head up. "All ATMAT units are to engage the enemy fleet at will, disable them with your ionized railguns! Fighter squadrons are authorized to destroy any hostile fighter and vessel that is no bigger 400 meters." He quickly ordered. "The fleet shall maintain formation and commence firing on the frontmost hostile vessels." He added in quick succession.

Hackett then watched with fascination rivaled only by the brightest scientific and strategic minds of the COG as his fighter squadrons engaged with the Batarian's own fighters. He then made a grin as he witnessed the number of Batarian signatures popping out of the tactical display at a rapid rate while his own were only being destroyed at a slow rate.

"This is going mych better than I thought…" He quietly mused as two of the enemy frigates got destroyed by an antimatter beam from his flagship, the Washington. Moments later, a lucky round from one of the enemy ships, a Batarian cruiser to be exact, gutted a frigate next to Hackett's ship, the USS Jefferson.

"Alright, I'm taking that back." He grumbled as he turned towards one of his tactical officers. "I want all frigates and destroyers to pull back behind our capital ships." He ordered. "Capital ships are to divert all power from main thrusters to tachyon shields, they are to protect our smaller ships from those slugs." He said.

The man nodded and went to work while a sensory officer turned towards him from his seat. "Sir, we got five squadrons of hostile bombers and twelve squadrons of fighters moving in from our left flank." He reported.

Hackett pushed a few buttons and his tactical board materialized the location of the enemy strike crafts. "Send Commander Reiner's Frigate Squadron to intercept them." He ordered before looking at one of the external cameras that had real-time sight on the enemy strike crafts. He watched proudly as Reiner's frigates brutally dismantled the enemy fighters with their precise, yet overwhelming Protector Class Close-in Weapons Systems that fired small highly pressurized laser bolts that could instantly reach and annihilate their prey.

'Hope I can end this soon,' Hackett thought as a cruiser on his starboard side began drifting and leaking atmosphere due to extensive battle damage.

* * *

"All Squadrons, prepare for launch! Repeat, all Squadrons, prepare for launch!" Flight Captain Chung's comms system beeped, he and his pilots hopped onto their Thunderhawks and waited for their next order.

Soon, the order came. "All Squadrons, Launch! Repeat, all Squadrons, launch!" Came the order.

"Control, this is 3rd Wing Command from Hangar A12, we're beginning standard lift off procedures." Chung's ground support officer notified in the comms as he starting powering up his jet engines, they were ordered to warm it up before the battle began so they were quickly ready.

"Third Wing Command, this is Control, your wing is clear for launch." Control replied. "Be advised, enemy fighters are dangerously agile and are armed with mass drivers." Chung could hear Control add.

"Noted, Control, Third Wing Command out!" The officer said as he turned to Chung. "Major, you're clear for lift off, good hunting, sir!" The officer said as he made a quick salute.

Chung saluted back and closed his cockpit. He then opened the comms to his Wing. "Alright pilots, today's your first battle and I want everyone back home in one piece so that we can celebrate New Year's Eve, got it!" He barked.

"This is Axe Lead, roger that!"

"This is Dagger Lead, got it loud and clear!"

"Lancer Lead here, wilco."

"Broadsword Lead here, we hear you!"

"Good, now move out." Chung said as he boosted his engines, his whole wing were soon in space as his jet's thrusters sent him flying at an astronomically quick speed, had he not been genetically enhanced to withstand higher Gs and not worn his armor, he doubt he'd survive.

He then shook those thoughts out as he saw a jet flying next to him, it was an F-35 drone. "The airframes are old as hell, but they sure pack a lot of firepower." He noted, and not without reason. The F-35 drones were an automated version of the venerable bit obsolete F-35 family first deployed during the 2010s, they were considered the single most lethal multi-purpose of it's time due to it's 12 missile capacity and later, laser weaponry. Now it's old variants are considered obsolete, but with the automated version introduced a few years, this so-called obsolescence was being challenged.

"Hostiles, 12000 kilos up front." Broadsword Lead reported.

Chung checked his radar. "Confirmed, I got 72 hostiles on my scope, it's a full sized Wing." He said. "Alright, Dagger and Broadsword will take the left; Lancer will take the right; Axe Squadron will form up on me, we're taking them head on." He ordered.

"Roger that, Wing-Lead. Axe Squadron, form up on the Major." He said. The sixty drones accompanying each Squadron formed up next to their pilots and maintained a well spread-out formation. All the fighters then accelerated towards the enemy fighters and they soon clashed.

Chung pulled an instant right turn with his jet, causing his first two opponents to accelerate straight pass him. He then fired one missile at each of them and began closing in on a third target. He watched his radar and grinned as the missiles found their mark, he then opened fire on the third target with a burst of antimatter bolts, blowing it up to smithereens.

"Wing Lead, you got a bandit on your tail." Axe-Five reported to Chung, and soon after, the enemy pilot opened fire. Five high velocity slugs successively darted through the vacuum of space towards Chung's craft. The Flight Captain expertly maneuvered around the first three slugs, the fourth one hit him and was bounced off by his shield.

Chung growled in frustration, not realizing a fifth round was fired until it was almost too late. As he saw coming close, a F-35 drone jumped right in between him and the round, blocking the shot two seconds before impact and saving the Flight Captain, but at the cost of itself.

"Damn, that was close!" Chung exclaimed as he took a quick glance at the wreckage of his drone before quickly maneuvering to have his nose face the enemy, he squeezed two shots out. The first one hit what he assumed to be the strike craft's engine while the second one disintegrated it's cockpit. The now destroyed fighter tumbled towards Chung with enflamed fragments exploding everywhere, forcing the pilot to maneuver through a clusterbomb.

One piece of fragment from his enemy's jet hit and stabbed deep into his jet's hull which is where one of his stabilizers were placed and inches next to the cockpit, Chung looked at it and sighed in relief as the fragment was fairly small and the stabilizer seemed be safe. "All Squadrons, status report!" He demanded as he searched for his next target on radar.

His Wing's squadron leaders quickly reported their situations and he made a grim expression, five pilots had been killed when their jets were destroyed, another two are forced to return to base due to battle damage. In short, he lost good men, too many good men. The only good news he heard was that they had cleared their area of space, meaning they had broken through. "All Squadrons, form up on me, we're taking out those frigates." He ordered as he began navigating towards the enemy fleet's formation.

"Arm EMP missiles." He ordered as he swiped a few digital blueprints into his jet's layout. The jet's underbelly weapons bay then opened up while a tiny railway containing four missile pods slid under the wings. Missile pods then activated a magnetic lock, sticking themselves to the wings while the railway contracts back into the underbelly, the underbelly bay closed afterwards.

"EMP missiles armed." He heard one pliot report.

"We're a thousand kilometers before reaching the enemy ships sir." Broadsword Lead reported.

Now was the time. "All Squadrons, disperse and pick your targets. One way or another these enemy ships are going down!" Chung then pushed his jet's acceleration to the limit as he quickly reached his target. He locked on two enemy frigates and one dreadnought with his missiles and fired.

Forty right missiles burst from the Captain's jet fighter and found their mark on the enemy ships as they short-circuited their systems. The roaring point defense guns of the ships fell silent soon afterwards. Looking at his comrades, he was impressed to see them putting their training to good use, they disabled many ships with their payload too.

"Flight Lead, we're low on ordinance." Axe-Lead reported.

Chung swiped a logo in his interface to check his inventory and nodded. "Flight Lead to all Squadrons, we're low on ordinance and fuel. We are to RTB and await further orders." He said as he turned his craft around.

"All units, hostile fleet has been defeated and rendered mission-dead! Prepare for boarding!" Chung could hear Admiral Hackett order via open comms. "Frigate Squadron 10, Frigate Squadron 13, set waypoint to Heavengate high orbit and get there pronto!"

* * *

Shepard and Tanner led the small strike team of Marines and Commandos down the massive network of subterranean tunnels. At first, it was as dark as the night and it sent chills to Shepard due to how quiet it was but minutes later, they found light.

Reddish orange, glowing lights.

It was the main lava river, Shepard looked below, the lava illuminated the entire tunnel wherever it was. To Shepard, this was nothing short of beauty in a hellhole like Heavengate. He then snapped himself back to reality as the thought of Heavengate reminded him of the stake he held in this mission, he had to complete it so he could return home, so all of them could return home...

"Major!" Tanner called out, snapping Shepard from his increasingly drifting thoughts. Shepard looked towards the Captain, who was pointing at a pillar. "Readings suggest that this pillar is a critical point near in between the middle lines, we could place charges on this one." He suggested.

Shepard nodded in agreement while turning to a Marine. "Demolitions, place a sonic charge there. Set it to detonate in three hours." He ordered.

"Yes sir." The Marine responded before the group could hear a sharp noise echoing in the tunnel. A mere second after the sharp noise, a hyper-velocity round punched through the helmet of the unsuspecting Marine by the left side and into his skull, like a dart penetrating through a piece of paper: powerful and precise.

"Hostiles! Hit the rocks!" Tanner yelled as he pushed a Marine into cover. "How'd they get in here?" He yelled in demand as the shock of their appearance briefly flashed across his mind.

"How the hell would I know?" Shepard yelled back as he ran for cover. "You can probably do us a favor by standing up and ask them nicely!"

He took cover behind a pillar, scanning for enemies on his exposed side as he did so. He then attempted to peek out of the pillar to find the sniper, only to have the sniper make a graze of his helmet, he quickly returned to cover, in shock over the precision of the sniper. "I don't have eyes on them!" He yelled as he switched to thermals, only to find out that the lava was making thermalized visors miserable.

"Neither do I!" A Commando yelled before he was shot through his helmet's left eye socket, spilling blood to the ground as his limp corpse fell to the lava river below.

"Jonathan!" One of the Commandos, Yasmin yelled in agony. In truth, Shepard wanted to yell just as Yasmin did, for Jonathan was one of the few people he befriended with back in commando boot camp that was still alive even though he didn't belong to his section, he was assigned to Major Gregory's unit until the siege, where his commanding officer died and unit insignias no longer mattered. In other words, he had lost another friend, not a close one but a friend nonetheless.

"Yasmin, focus on the fight! We'll have time to mourn later." He forced himself to say as he took one last glance at where Jonathan fell before looking towards Tanner, who had also forced himself to hold his composure. "Tanner, you got a sensor's grenade with you?" He asked.

"Yeah, hang on a sec." He produced a sensor grenade from his belt and threw it out in the open, the grenade pinged multiple times as it sent waves of harmless radiation, and five dozen enemy signatures popped up on the group's motion trackers. "I got sixty of those assholes!" He quickly said as another hyper-velocity round shot through his cover but missed his face only by a hair's width. "They're advancing as we speak, sir!" He added.

"Return fire and waste these assholes! We can't afford to waste anymore time here!" Shepard ordered as he peeked out and fired his Lancer, hitting one Batarian soldier straight at the face. The other soldiers did what they were told and a massive firefight of attrition broke out. Minutes of battle soon turned to hours, and more men were dying. "Shit," He muttered as he checked his watch, there was only an hour left before the counterattack begins.

"The window is closing, people! Where's the sonic charge?" Shepard demanded to know as he looked around. He saw the dead marine from earlier, his hand holding the charge tight. "Tanner, what's the blast radius of a sonic charge?" He asked.

"A hundred meters, why?"

"I've got a plan." Shepard replied. "Cover me!" He yelled as he rushed for the charge. Batarian troops immediately began opening fire on him while COG troops returned fire to keep them down. Shepard saw a few of the Batarians fall even though his men were only suppressing, not sniping. He soon reached the dead Marine's side and tried grabbing the charge, the Marine's dead body and powered armor held it as tight as a block of but with an enhanced pull from the his powered armor, the Major was able to take the charge. He then ripped it's cover open, showing the fuselage of the charge. He threw it out in the open, near the Batarian troops and he unholstered his pistol, he fired at a shot at the detonation fuselage and he was sent back in a shockwave almost instantly.

He felt his armor crash into a pillar hard, the pillar collapsed on him as he tried to stand up and his armor saved him from what would otherwise be certain death. He shrugged off the debris and checked his motion tracker, no enemies remaining, probably pulverized as blood and spilled organs were everywhere from the ground to the ceiling. Tanner then came out of cover and jogged towards Shepard, he lightly punched him in the shoulder when they were at arm's length.

"That was bold, sir." He simply said before pointing to the pillar. "When I threw the sensor grenade, it not only scanned the enemies, but also additional points for sonic implosion. We can cause a lot more damage to the enemy if we set the sonic charge here while also saving time, a lot of time."

Shepard checked the time, less than 45 minutes remained. He looted a charge from the dead demolitions marine, then handed it to Yasmin, who was still distraught at the lost of her comrade "Alright Yasmin, set the charge there and set it to blow in fifteen minutes." He then turned to Tanner. "The rest of us will…" The ground suddenly shook hard, so hard that Shepard almost lost balance and fell. Seconds later, crab-like creatures in layered carapace emerged out of the lava and started climbing towards the group.

Shepard immediately turned to a slightly stunned Yasmin. "GO! Set the charge!" He yelled as he grabbed his Lancer and started firing, the rest of the group followed suit as Yasmin recovered from the quake and started sprinting towards the pillar. Shepard fired at one of the creatures and watched in delight as the rounds from his rifle blew chunks of it's flesh to slags of meat. He then switched targets and pulled the trigger again, this time he blew one of the things' legs, incapacitating it.

"Ah, get… Off me!" He heard a Marine groan in desperation as he turned to see him being caught by one of the creatures' giant claws. Shepard immediately rushed to the creature's side and activated his chainsaw. He slammed into the creature hard and pushed the chainsaw bayonet down upon the claw's joints. He amputated it and freed the marine but enraged the crab. The crab rushed at Shepard with its remaining claw reaching out to grab the Major but he expertly dodged it until another crab came up from behind without him noticing.

"John!" He heard Tanner call his name out. "Heads down!" He yelled. Shepard didn't have time to think so he did as he was told and just moments later the crab from behind was blown apart by a rocket launcher attachment from Tanner's rifle. The shockwave of the blast slightly disoriented the crab up front and Shepard took the opportunity by shooting at it's face in point blank range. He fired and fired until his rounds penetrated it's thick carapace and blew brain matter out.

He then ejected his magazine and slammed a new one as he turned to Tanner. "What's the deal?" He asked as he began firing again. Avenging a marine and commando who were cut in half by blowing up the two creatures' face.

"We're outnumbered, and we're getting low on ammo." Tanner said as he took down one of the smaller crabs that was closing in, it's corpse twitching as he executed it with a powerful stomp to the head. "At this rate, we're gonna…Holy shit." Tanner muttered as a massive shadow consumed the illuminating light surrounding the two.

Shepard turned towards the source of the shadow and could only gape in shock, it was a massive version of the crabs, with a much darker-looking carapace. "Holy shit." He muttered and immediately turned towards Yasmin, who was still priming the bomb. "Yasmin, anytime now!" He said as he started shooting the thing with Tanner. The rounds bounced off the creature's carapace as if they were nothing while at the same time killed five Commandos at once with a swipe from his claws.

Yasmin didn't respond to Shepard's yelling but seconds later Shepard could hear the bomb beeping rapidly. "Bomb primed!" She yelled.

"Alright boys, get moving! Time to get outta this hellhole!" Shepard ordered as he started running. The rest of the group did the same and the creatures started pursuing, catching the group one by one as more crabs emerged from the lava to kill. Shepard kept running and running until they reached a dead end. He looked all around the save and found a way that led straight to the surface.

"Grappling hooks, now!" He ordered as he fired an ascension cable. He and a few of the group started climbing up while Tanner provided cover fire for the remaining members. As the creatures closed in, he sprayed Lancer fire on them while firing his ascension cable with his armbrace. He then threw his Lancer at one of the closest of the crabs as it tried to grab him and started climbing, leaving a grenade behind as he did so.

The grenade blew up, but did not deter the crabs as they started climbing. But the tunnel started trembling again as rock pieces started falling from the surface. One of the falling rocks hit a pair of Marines and Shepard couldn't bare to watch what came next as they were mercilessly ripped apart by the pursuing crabs. Their call for help went ignored as the team kept climbing, their calls soon became less and less quiet until they were no longer audible.

At the same time, the tunnel shook again, this time Shepard started seeing dust rapidly coming floating upwards while falling rocks slammed the crabs down. "Oh no, brace yourselves!" He yelled as the dust became a massive airflow that blew them all out of the tunnels and up towards the surface. The COG soldiers all slammed themselves towards the ground in pain as the airflow sent them flying. Tanner was the first to stand up and pulled Shepard up as he looked around.

"Come on, men!" He yelled as he started running. The ground behind the group started cracking as lava spilled out of those cracks.

"Run for it!" Shepard yelled while running. One unfortunate marine tripped as he ran, and fell towards the spilling lava, screaming in fear as he fell to his death. The rest of the group soon reached a safe vantage point, and some collapsed in exhaustion.

"Give me a headcount, Captain Tanner." Shepard said between breaths.

"I count seven, that's including the two of us." He reported.

"We lost a lot of good men this time." Shepard muttered as he squeezed his rifle's grip hard in rage and sadness. "Why did they have to die, Tanner? Why?" He asked.

"I… don't know, sir but I do know it was worth it." Tanner said as he pointed towards the Batarian lines, lava was spilling towards their battlements and their base, burning all those in the vicinity to ash or molten slag. "Their sacrifice brought us victory, sir."

Shepard didn't turn to Tanner as he stared at the outflowing lava. "No loss of life is ever worth the result, Lowell. We can only hope that their loss… Their sacrifice were not in vain." Shepard snapped slightly before tapping into the comms.

"Command, this is Major Shepard here. Objective completed but we have been rendered mission-incapable after an unexpected run with a Batarian platoon and the aggressive fauna here. We're sitting the rest of the fight out, boys. Good luck."

* * *

Admiral Amon couldn't believe what he was witnessing. His fleet, one of the great Batarian Hegemony's finest ones too, was utterly annihilated by some mere upstarts, what's worse is that they weren't destroyed but merely disabled, adding salt to the already crippling humiliation he had just suffered. And now he could only watch in rage as boarding ships from these upstarts board what's left of his fleet of ships one by one and soon after them, they went for his ship.

"Admiral, they're boarding us!" The executive officer of the ship said. Seeing no reply from the livid Admiral, he acted on his own accord. "Security, distribute weapons to all crewmen, lock the slaves and fortify all corridors to the bridge!"

Mere seconds later, the executive officer was executed by Amon with a shot to his head's rear as he coordinated the ship's defenses without his approval. Amon then started hearing bumping, not outside the bridge, but on the hull itself. He looked at the bridge and could drop his jaw in shock as he saw five black armor-clad warriors walking outside in the vacuum of space, their blue eyes making them look lifeless and deadly. Their armor didn't look like they were designed for vacuum but for combat, these upstarts were more advanced than he had initially thought.

One of the soldiers grabbed some sort of explosive and planted it. Amon looked horrified and at the same time helpless, with the reactors down, there was only one way this would end. He drew his pistol and started shooting at the bulletproof glass, at the soldier holding the explosive while the bridge crew started panicking. Seconds later, the soldier detonated the bomb and a furious Amon got sucked out of the ship to the cold, merciless vacuum of space along with everyone on the bridge.

Amon's last moments saw the black soldiers entering his ship and his only thought was him regretting his own arrogance as he froze to death, becoming a floating statue destined to be regarded as space junk.


	8. Back Home

**So this, along with the next few chapters will be less fighting, more politics and character and relationships development so you guys might be bored, lemme know if you think that way. I'm writing this mostly because I want to get some fresh air from all the goofy fights in the last few chapters, rest assured Shepard and many characters will get a very drastic personality change due to his role.**

**And there's two issues that I've seen across everywhere recently, from social media to real life encounters, the first one is thanks to the Wuhan virus and how some PRC citizens have been pure dickwads during this outbreak that turned it into a pandemic, sinophobia is very rampant worldwide. While those Chinese deserve to be beaten down and then crucified for being such assholes, I'd like to point out that sinophobia is not by any means, tolerable as it meant dragging everyone with an Asian face down with these ass clowns. Feel free to bitch about them, criticism doesn't equate to racial discrimination, especially when it's directed at a nationality and not a race.**

**The second issue is how the media has been praising China for their work in containing the virus, we see how 'good' they are in newspapers like NY Times and other shit. I would refer to the Western media who reported those stuff as lazy-ass money grabbers because they literally copied from state-run media in China like Global Times and Xinhua. Then a significant portion of the involved countries' first infected patient is Chinese, which is a result of lenient travel restrictions, the PRC deserves a slap in the face because their stupid decisions made sure that the virus will be everywhere like it is now. The fact that it was the Chinese who's responsible for almost everything in this outbreak, yet they're the ones receiving praise for their shitty damage control is very disturbing to me, and I hope that I'm not the only one thinking like that.**

**Anyways, ranting finished, sorry for the word drag lol. Enjoy the story.**

* * *

Shepard stared at what remained of Heavengate base from his vantage point, it's facilities, scant a few, were all but destroyed. Despite the damage it had suffered, it was still operational and as the battle was over, it was already blistering with activity. The COG Marine Corps had most definitely suffered a crippling amount of casualties that would leave them in the rear lines to rebuild for months or even years to come, as had his and late Major Gregory's battalion. He then looked at the COG tags on his left hand, three dozen names were on the tags, all of them under his command until they paid the ultimate price. More names to remember, and heavier the burden.

"Lowell, so many soldiers gave their lives…" He mumbled as he kept his stare on the tags on his hands. "Why are we still alive, after all this?" He asked as he collapsed to the ground, weeping at the fact that so many had died for this one victory.

"I… have no clue, sir." Tanner hesitantly replied. "But I get what you mean, sir. Most civilians don't understand that being a survivor is a tortuous and painful path, one that takes far greater courage than the courage to die…" He said.

"Do you still think this victory was worth it?" Shepard silently asked after a moment of silence as he wiped his face, which was full of tears.

"I still think it's worth it, though this victory cost many lives, it saved many more and kept folks back home safe." Tanner firmly replied.

Shepard finally stood up as he turned to Tanner. "Sometimes Lowell, I feel that I should be the one in the body bag, not them." He said as he handed Tanner the COG tags on his hand, who grabbed them without hesitation. "I deserve neither honors nor the rank for what happened." He added before walking to a King Osprey that had just landed.

He heard Tanner mutter something as he turned to follow him but didn't push for answers.

They hopped on the King Osprey with what was left of their strike force and they returned to Heavengate base, where Army troops began setting up prefabricated facilities to tend to the horrendous situation at the base. As the King Osprey circled around the base when it's high above the field, Shepard saw pile after pile of Batarian, Krogan and Vorcha corpses being disposed of with flames of napalm while Gears guarded line after line of captured Batarians, who were being arranged into transport ships to be sent to POW camps.

The Osprey soon landed on an emergency landing pad on the base, and Shepard left towards the Command Center, one of the few buildings that had actually survived the battle while the others went to get some food. On his way, Shepard passed by a medical tent, paramedics were sending streams of wounded into it and when Shepard peeked inside it out of curiosity, he saw many wounded soldiers and equally many body bags. Sergeant Carmine was kneeling in front of one of the bags, his large stature making him easily identifiable.

Shepard knew what Carmine's actions meant, and left to continue his way to the Command Center as the sergeant mourned. As he walked he noticed that King Ospreys were starting to transport the heavily wounded but stabilized marines and commandos off the planet while fresh squads of Gears took their place. Medics were moving those wounded with floating stretchers, allowing them to move much quicker than with the traditional wheeled version. He soon reached the Command Center and he saw the high ranking officers together on a holographic communications channel.

"Ah Major, you're back!" Philips greeted. "Your mission was instrumental towards this battle's outcome, you deserve a reward." He praised.

"The men should be the one receiving the reward, not me," Shepard replied. "All I did was to spend their lives." He said.

"And you had spent them well," Hoffman said.

"Anyways, there was an emergency meeting at the HoR a few hours ago. They're pissed and divided." Philips said. "Half of the house wants to go to war, while the other half wants to sue for peace." He explained. "The president wants you home before the next meeting, which is scheduled to start next week."

"What does it have to do with me?" Shepard shockingly asked something that did not bold well to him. "I have neither the power nor the political ties to help the President." He noted.

"But you have the battlefield experience, Major." A new hologram appeared and Mendez appeared before them.

The entire room saluted. "Special Operations Chief Mendez, we didn't expect you to come!" Shepard said as he saluted with the rest. "And what did you mean by me having the battlefield experience to help the President?" He asked in a slightly inquisitive tone.

"You've seen how the Batarians wage war, you've seen what they had done." Mendez simply pointed out.

It took Shepard an entire minute to realize what his superior was suggesting, and he did not like the idea. "The president wants me on testimony in front of the whole nation?" Shepard half-guessed.

Mendez's nod confirmed his suspicion. "You're a war hero, John. Your words mean a lot to the people." He further added.

Shepard sighed. "When am I leaving?"

"As soon as you're ready," Mendez replied. "Take what's left of your unit and Gregory's unit to Earth, too. We've got a surprise for you and the troops." He ordered.

"Sir, yes sir!" Shepard saluted while Mendez's hologram faded away into nothing. Shepard then turned towards General Philips. "I'll leave in two hours, sir. It's been an honor serving under you over these last few days." He gratefully said as he made a chest salute with a slam to his chest.

"Honor's all mine, Major. Good luck on the homefront!" Philips said bid goodbyes as he extended his hand, which was gladly taken and shaken by Shepard before he left the room. As Shepard left the room and began walking, he saw Zaeed waiting for him.

"So, I guess this is goodbye then, Shepard." He nonchalantly said.

"Yes it is, Sergeant Major." Shepard replied. "And sorry about that outburst from a few days earlier, I'll… Take note of what you had said that day." He added as he walked past the old Marine and out of the Command Center.

He then connected to the comms. "Cole, Helen, Tanner. Have what's left of the 15th and 14th prepped for departure in two hours, we're going to Earth." He ordered.

* * *

It had been six hours since they left for Earth and they had finally arrived. The blistering defences from the Olympus Defence Line and the many fleets surrounding it made Shepard twitch slightly as memories of the Jovian Wars flooded his mind again, memories of how the mighty weapons on those gargantuan vessels bombarded cities to mere ash. It was a haunting sight and he made sure again to never forget the horrors of those days.

"Olympus Actual, this is Stealth Group Tyran Glory. We're on a course towards Earth on orders of President Prescott, requesting safe passage, over." The Communications Officer of the Tyran Glory requested.

"Stealth Group Tyran Glory, this is Olympus Command. You are to relay identification codes immediately." The reply immediately came back.

"Roger that, transmitting ID codes now." The Comms officer typed a few buttons and waited.

"Identification codes received, standby." Olympus Command replied.

A few moments later, the operator on Olympus Command returned. "Tyran Glory, this is Olympus Command. You are clear for entry, Cruisers HMS Hood, HMS Elizabeth and Battleship USS Atlanta will be escorting you to your destination, have a good day!" The operator said before cutting the transmission.

The ships then continued their way while 3 massive ships joined the stealth ships in their starboard side. It took another thirty minutes for the stealth ships to reach the planet and when they finally docked in the interstellar drydocks of Geneva, the crew and Commandos started disembarking. Shepard and his command cadre immediately left for the House of Presidents, where Gears in white were waiting, the Gears' white armor had the symbol of the COG administration in Black on their shoulder pads while their left chest were what appeared to be their first names and serial number.

The lead Gear marched towards Shepard and stopped five steps in front of Shepard, his armor serial number showed 'Hood-000' and he had many additions to his armor, like a thicker chest piece, a large right shoulder pad, a energy emitter on his left wrist and razor sharp knee pads. "Major Shepard, I'm Commander Hood-Zero-Zero-Zero, head of the President's security detail. President Prescott is inside so it's best that we do not keep him waiting." He greeted before walking towards the House entrance.

Shepard and his accomplices followed him in, during which he noticed that members of the President's security detail were not identical in appearance aside from their muscular stature and white armor, some had additions on their visors, some had what appeared to be a thicker left arm piece and some were armed with shoulder mounted weaponry. On top of the President's roof, Shepard could see no less than five snipers on various vantage points, to say that the President is well-protected was honestly an understatement.

When they walked into the halls of the building, Shepard noticed that that it looked simplistic. Excluding the size, it looked like any middle-class household and did not by any means, look lavish. The hallways were filled with portraits of past Presidents, as well as documents of the COG's foundation. Patrols everywhere too, Gears were in the hallways and halls, each of them either having a carbine variant of the Lancer Mark I in hand, or a ballistic shield and a pistol.

They finally walked to a door after a long walk across the hallways, it was guarded by four Gears, they saluted to Commander Hood and stepped aside when they saw him. Hood nodded to them in appreciation before opening the doors and turning to the Commandos. "I'll be outside." He told Shepard and his men before the Major stepped into the room.

Inside the room was a collection of old scriptures and books, containing the wisdoms and mistakes of past ages. On the far right of the room was an old armor dating from before the Jovian Wars, with the name tag 'Prescott' on it's chest piece, Shepard assumed it was worn by the president himself. He then looked over to the left, where the president was talking with Admiral Koris of the Quarians.

Prescott tilted his head towards Shepard and his men, and they snapped to attention. "Ah, Major Shepard! So glad to have you with us." The president greeted while turning to Koris. "Admiral, I assume you remember Major Shepard, he made quite a show during the negotiations." He said.

Koris stood up. "Indeed, Mr. President. The Major has become very well-known in the colony thanks to his actions." He extended a hand, which Shepard took and shook.

They soon broke hands and Shepard turned to the President. "So sir, I've been informed that I will be making a testimony in front of the House."

"Ah yes, Major." Prescott confirmed. "And I'm just about to tell you what you need to include." He brought up the datapad. "You'll be giving a few reasons for the house to go to war so you should probably go for the Batarian culture and their history."

"So… I'll be targeting their history, their culture and anything else that would be beneficial to the testimony. Perhaps… the operation?"

"It's your call, Major." Prescott before standing up. "That reminds me, Mr. Baird from DB Industries wanted to meet your men. You people will be the first to receive an entirely new generation of weapons." He said as he handed Damon Baird's business card to Shepard.

"Is there a time stamp on this meeting?" The Major asked while inspecting the card. "Wouldn't want to be late." He chuckled slightly.

"Yes, there is. He wants you to meet him next week, right after the hearing with the Representatives." Prescott responded as he moved back to his seat. "These weapons will be the only thing that will help us stand between sovereignty and slavery if the House doesn't vote for a declaration of war." He added. "So make a damn fine speech, kid."

The Commandos saluted. "Then we'll be on our way now, sir!" Shepard said as they turned to the leave the room.

"I think we should go for the bar now." Helen quietly suggested as they left the room. "It's been a while since we get to slack off a bit."

"I second that." Tanner added.

* * *

The bartender slid a bottle of beer to Shepard as he gave his thanks, he then turned to his old teammates, all of them holding a bottle of beer. "Peace to the fallen." The Major said aloud as he raised his bottle.

"Peace to the fallen." The rest echoed as they started emptying the bottle's content. Once the finished, Shepard gestured the bartender for another wave of beer as the group returned the emptied bottles.

"How long has it been since we get to slack off like this?" Cole wondered out aloud as he caught the bottle of beer that was going for him.

"I dunno, maybe a week or so?" Tanner answered. "Heavengate's been really rough for us all, can't say time didn't run faster for us all there. We all look pretty banged up after that." He added before turning behind him, he froze at what he saw. "Hey guys, ain't that Yasmin? The one from the 14th?" He asked as he pointed towards the far-right-end of the bar, at a table occupied by a single feminine figure.

Shepard took a closer look. "Yeah it's her, alright." He confirmed while looking her table. "And she's drunk as hell from the looks of her table." He added, astonished at what he was seeing. "There's gotta be at least twenty empty bottles on it." He noted.

"Yeah, and we got wolves moving in on her already." Cole said. "Eleven o'clock, three men in spiked jackets and black baggy pants. The lead one looks like one bald and thirsty son of a bitch." He reported. "Typical gangsters." He concluded.

"What's your call, boss?" Helen asked. "Fight or flight?"

Shepard smirked before emptying what was left of his second bottle of beer. "We commandos ain't ever running from a bar fight." He answered before sliding the beer back to the bartender.

"Tanner, with me. The two of you will bring her back to her quarters and make sure she doesn't barf on the ship. I've had enough annoying bitching from the janitor bots when we left the docks with dirt and dust under our boots." Shepard casually said as he began walking towards the trio of thugs.

One of the thugs saw Shepard coming and notified his boss, who immediately switched his course from the drunk Yasmin to the Major. "What do ya'll want?" The boss rudely demanded.

"Get out of the way, we're leaving with the girl." Tanner said.

"No, you got it all wrong homie, that chick is ours tonight." The thug responded. "And you're not gonna…" He didn't finish his statement as Shepard punched him right at the nose, knocking him out cold while leaving a broken nose.

"Like the man said." Shepard started. "We're leaving with the girl." He declared. "So, out of our way, or fight like you mean it." He finished with a challenge before pushing the two thugs away and walking over the unconscious gang boss with Tanner, Helen and Cole behind.

"Hey brothers, these assholes knocked the boss out. Let's show 'em what happens when they piss us Spikeheads off." One of the thugs yelled when Cole and Helena grabbed Yasmin by the shoulder before holding his bottle of beer by it's bottleneck. "Let's get these motherfuckers!" He said as he charged at Shepard with a swing from his bottle.

Shepard turned to face the charge. "Bad move, kid." He simply said before evading the swing, he then punched the thug's weapon arm's by the elbow, causing him to let go of his weapon. Shepard then grabbed it mid-air and had it slammed upwards, towards the cheek bone of the disarmed thug.

The other thugs began joining the fight while the thug he had just dealt with fell to the ground, it turned out that half of the club was part of the gang after Shepard checked his surroundings again.

Shepard then dropped the shattered bottle as he turned towards Cole and Helen. "Go, we'll deal with these kids."

Cold nodded and brought Yasmin out as a thug charged towards them. He was moments from slamming his bottle on Cole's head when Tanner kicked him by his waist and forced him aside. The Commando then disarmed three more thugs by punching their joints and knocked each of them out cold with a side punch to their faces.

On Shepard's end, he punched a thug in the stomach with the pain, stunning him while he knocked down another one with an elbow to the face. He then turned to another thug and darted towards him, he grabbed the slow gangster by his left arm and twisted it, making him roar in agony as he dislocated the man's arm, the Major proceeded to kick him by his stomach, incapacitating him. He finally turned back to the thug he stunned earlier and finished him off with a kick to the chest.

The Major then turned towards the last of the gangsters, who became terrified and ran immediately.

He then turned to Tanner, who looked around the bar. The bar ended up suffering surprisingly little damage, with only a few broken bottles and a table damaged. The Major turned to the bartender and gave him enough money to cover the costs of this bar fight and proceeded to walk out of the bar with Tanner.

"Lowell, you go and catch up with the others, I'm heading home to grab some shut eye." Shepard said as they stood outside the bar. "It's been quite a night just now."

Tanner sighed. "Alright then, we'll meet up at your place tomorrow morning." He replied before walking away.

They then went their separate ways as Tanner returned to the ship while Shepard went to a trans-continental train station. As the Major walked, he heard some sadistic laughter in an alley and checked it out in curiosity. He saw the thug who ran in terror in the bar earlier, and he was harassing a red-headed woman with little clothing on her.

Shepard decided to intervene. "Hey, kid!" He yelled. The thug turned to look at him. "Thought you had enough of gang life when you ran!" The Major then darted towards him and held him by his collar. "Seems I was wrong." He then punched him in the guts hard and threw him aside towards the right.

He turned to the thug, who had quickly recovered and knelt. "Stop it please, alright? I'm sorry! Just… Just don't do anything else to me anymore!" He pleaded for mercy with his trembling voice.

Shepard glared death at him as he grabbed him by the collar again. "I see you hanging out with your buds in the bar, wearing these clothes, or harassing women again, I'll beat you into pulp and then drag you to the police station myself. And I guarantee you that folks here treat gangsters far worse than me." Shepard said as he released him. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind." He demanded and the thug obeyed. He quickly ran away.

The Major then turned to the woman, who had remained silent the whole time. She was half naked, and her skirt was torn apart, her terrified expression eased a little when the thug ran away. "Ma'am? You alright?" He asked. "That kid is gone, he won't be bothering you for the time being."

The woman didn't respond as she stared at her savior, and he could not tell whether he was being stared at in disbelief, or gratitude or hatred by her emerald-colored eyes. Seconds later, the woman collapsed in exhaustion but was caught by Shepard just in time as he held her by his large left arm. He checked her pulse with his fingers by tapping on her carotid artery and was somewhat relieved that she was breathing.

Shepard then grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket and activated his comms earpiece. "This is Major Shepard of COG Military, I have an unconscious female in her late 30s who had suffered from sexual harassment prior to her collapse, we're at Alley A25, 30 meters away from nearest 7-11 Convenience store to Dionysus'. I request that paramedics be on the scene ASAP, over." He then cut the transmission and turned to the unconscious woman. "Come on, stay with me ma'am." He muttered to the woman.

* * *

"How is she?" Shepard asked as the doctor came out of the diagnosis chamber.

"The patient you brought here is fine, Major. She was simply too exhausted by the time you found her. We've given her a syringe of nutrients and adrenaline so she's clear to leave the moment she wishes to." The Doctor nonchalantly replied. "By the way, you should go in and have a look at her." The Doctor suggested as he was about to leave for his office.

Shepard was a little bit confused and curious at the unusual suggestion. "Uh… Why?" He prompted.

"This lady does not have any known family, relatives or friends. The doctor revealed as he gave Shepard a tablet. "According to a quick blood test, we've identified her as an orphan, Sunset Blossoms. Her adoptive family, the Blossoms were killed during the Jovian Wars, on Titan, specifically." He explained while Shepard read the information on it.

The Major stopped reading at the mention of the Battle of Titan as he looked at the doctor. "On Titan? Cause of death?" Shepard asked as strong memories of the fateful of day temporarily overwhelmed his mind, dulling his situational awareness.

"Collateral." Was the simple reply.

"I see…" Shepard muttered under his breath while handing the tablet back to the doctor. Another victim of a war he had started just because of his stupidity and his desire to save some comrades. "I still do not see why I should go see her, I don't know this lady at all." He said.

"While we were checking on her, she continued to struggle and even bit one of our nurses as you can see over there." The Doctor pointed in frustration at a nurse with a bandage over her left hand, the Major could tell the bite made a nasty wound on her hand as he could see a lot of blood.

He then turned back to the doctor as he continued. "You've just saved the lady, Major. I believe she'll have a modicum of and respect for you, adding the fact that she has no known connections to a tone and the fact that she tried to kill strangers like our staff, you're currently the best and only one in this room and possibly the entire Galaxy who could effectively communicate with her." He concluded.

Shepard sighed at that. "Alright, I'll go check on her then. Thanks for helping her by the way, doc." He thanked.

"Don't mention it, Major. Just doing my job."

Shepard then patted the doctor's shoulder and then walked into the chamber, where a nurse stood by the woman, she looked much better than when she was back at the alley. The Major nodded to the nurse, and the nurse nodded in relief in return before hastily leaving the chamber.

He then walked by the woman's side and took a seat as the nurse closed the chamber doors behind him. "Hello, ma'am. Do you remember me?" He kindly asked.

The woman slowly nodded.

"How did you…" Shepard was a bit surprised by her response until she pointed at Shepard's jacket pocket, the pocket where he kept his phone.

He glanced at his pocket and then back at her. "You heard my transmission?" The Major asked.

She nodded again. "Well, I'll be damned." Shepard was impressed by the woman's awareness.

He extended a hand to formally greet her. "By the way, I'm…" Before he could finish his introduction, she darted from her bed and made a kick towards Shepard's face with a sweep from her left leg, Shepard instantly retracted his hand and used it to tank the strike while having his other hand prepared for her next strike and true to his predictions, the moment she landed her first strike, she launched her next one with a quick punch.

The Major was stunned at the two quick and precisely-timed strikes but wasn't stunned enough to be distracted by it, he proceeded to use his second hand to slightly impact the woman's approaching hand, making it lose momentum and then slide sideways. He proceeded to grab that hand to prevent another strike while she kept slamming his other hand with kicks as she tried to break free. "Ma'am, I'd be very happy if you stop bashing and kicking me, I'm not here to hurt you." He urged before the woman managed to kick his arm away and slammed at him by the face.

The kick hurt Shepard and as he finally caught the leg and groaned in pain, he looked down and saw the woman's nameplate"Sunset..." He wondered out aloud and right at that instant, the woman stopped struggling but kept staring at Shepard with the animosity of a predator and the alertness of a deer. Shepard then let go of Sunset's arm and she returned to sit on her bed.

"That's a beautiful name," Shepard remarked. "I had a friend once while I lived in an orphanage in Hong Kong, who called herself Sunset too. She was adopted when she's thirteen and I had never heard of her since." He said. "Sometimes, I really wish I could see her again." He muttered in a sad and regretful tone as he made a weak smile.

There was then an awkward and tense moment of silence as Sunset stared at Shepard until the Major broke the silence by extending his hand again. "Ah I forgot about my original intention, I'm John Clifford Shepard." He introduced himself. "And I hope you won't kick or punch me this time." He jokingly added.

Sunset didn't take the hand, she instead shrunk to the farthest side of the bed and stared at the hand but instead of hostilities, it became that of slight mistrust and curiosity, it's as if she was at war with the world around her.

Shepard decided to not aggravate her any further with his current actions. "Alright then, no handshakes... " He compromised. "Do you have a place to live? Those thugs might be back for you so I figured I should escort you back myself." He asked.

'Why the hell did I say that? She was attacking me like a pissed off and cornered animal just a minute ago…' He thought as he regretted his choice of words.

She didn't say anything but her emerald eyes betrayed her cold, indifferent response and emotions as he could see a tinge of sadness and remorse in them.

"I see…" Shepard sighed with a look of deep contemplation before standing up. "How about you stay at my place in the meantime? I have an extra room where you can be accommodated until we could find you a new place to live in." He suggested to her, whose eyes brightened slightly with hope and joy at the suggestion before something came out of her mind that dimmed her eyes with concern.

She looked all over his bed for something, she couldn't find it until Shepard took a wallet from her belt, her wallet. It's primarily composed of dark red, with pure black covering the sides. The entire thing was old and torn to the point that normal people would dump it instead of keeping it in a drawer. Unzipping and opening it, Shepard revealed its insides, it was dirty and there wasn't even a hundred dollars in them.

Shepard shook his head as he gestured at Sunset to stop what she was doing. "In your current financial state? I doubt you have money to pay for a day's full stomach, let alone rent for a room." He let out. "Besides, I have no use for that room aside from gathering dust and storing junk since I live all by myself…..." He added before a memory flashed across his mind.

"Ah, speaking of this, I forgot to tell you that your clothes have been torn apart by that thug when I found you, so I bought you some new ones in advance." He said as he gave her a backpack. "They're inside this backpack along with a communicator, put them on when you feel like you want to go, I'll go buy you a sandwich or something." He turned around. "They're free, by the way." He added.

Shepard then prepared to walk out of the chamber but before he did, he heard Sunset bursting into tears but did not turn to address her on the matter as he walked out of the room. "Ouch..." He muttered as the kick she gave Shepard gave him a tinge of pain, he rubbed the wound a but as the doors to the chamber closed behind him.

He soon came back with a tuna sandwich and as he entered the chamber, he saw that Sunset had put on the clothes he had bought for her, they were very loose, so loose that they almost exposed her relatively large breasts. "Woah, now that's a little too eye-catching." He nervously remarked as he took his jacket off.

"Here, put this on." He offered as he handed it to her by putting it on the closest end of the bed. "Wouldn't want people to have any weird ideas about your body." He jokingly said. Sunset took the jacket without hesitation and put it on, it looked like she noticed how uncomfortable the clothes she was given were too. She turned to Shepard with an embarrassed but angry look, and the Major returned that looks with that of an apologetic one.

"Uh… Sorry about that, I didn't dare or have the expertise to check your body size so I bought some large ones for you from a store a few streets away." He apologetically explained. "Anyways, I bought a piece of a tuna sandwich for you, you should be hungry now, right?" He asked as he had it laid open for her.

Sunset didn't say anything in response, instead, she immediately snatched the sandwich from his hand and began eating it as fast as she could. "Wow, you really are hungry," Shepard dryly commented as she chewed the sandwich like a hungry animal. It took Sunset less than a minute to completely devour the sandwich and when she did, she turned to Shepard. Her eyes showing her desire for more but her mouth and vocal cord withheld themselves from speaking her wishes out for her.

That innocent and conflicted look made Shepard chuckle. "I don't have any more sandwiches with me but I can cook you some instant ramen, along with a few fried eggs and some ham when we're at my place if you want." He said. "They ain't the healthiest in my kitchen but they most definitely taste like fruits from heaven." He joyfully added.

Upon hearing Shepard's heavenly description of the food he could make, Sunset instantly jumped off of her bed and strode for the door, the Major couldn't help but smirk at her eagerness as he followed her out of the compartment in preparation for hospital leave procedures.

* * *

Tanner returned to the Tyran Glory, where his quarters lay. Unlike Shepard or some of the other Commandos in the battalions, he wasn't an Earth dweller, he lived in Mars, as such he had no home on the Capital of the COG. As he walked towards his quarters, he saw someone familiar walking like a zombie in front of him at the end of the deck hallway.

"Yasmin?" He muttered in shock as he walked towards her. "I thought Cole and Helen put you to sleep already." He grabbed her by the shoulder to hold her in place in order to get a better look of her.

She was still drunk, that was for sure, and she smelt like a drunkard too. Before Tanner could do anything though, Yasmin suddenly snatched onto him by his arm and bit him by his left shoulder. Tanner yelled in pain as he pushed the drunk Commando away, she then fell to the ground and never stood back up.

"Seriously… What the fuck man…" Tanner grumbled in pain as he rubbed his wounds while turning towards Yasmin, he found her sleeping on the deck floor soundly. "You've got to be kidding me." He said as he knelt and grabbed the drunk Commando by the shoulder. "You bit me and then you sleep on the deck floor?" He asked incredulously despite knowing that there would be no answer.

He then carried her back to her quarters and as he was about to put her down, Tanner felt something wet and warm streaming down from behind his trousers. Tanner prayed that it wasn't what he thought it was until he smelt it. "Goddammit why did you have to urinate on me?!" He furiously yelled as he threw Yasmin onto the bed.

He then had a service drone change her clothes and tend to the mess she made and left her quarters afterwards. He returned to his room, and entered the bathroom. He started taking off his clothes. "This has got to be the worse night of my career." He muttered in frustration and annoyance as he took off his military trousers to wash himself up.

* * *

JEREMIAH COLE'S AUDIO DIARY

ENTRY 0-0-0

PLAYING

Hey there uh... Mr. Diary

Someone in the battalion recommended that I speak to you in order to uh, you know... Share my feelings about the tough life I'm having or something like that so here I am, speaking with you, face to monitor. They say you're a great hollowed tree for troubled people to yell their misfortunes into and very good at keeping secrets, hah... Here's hoping you're as good as they say.

So we went to Heavengate last week, it was nothing but Hell incarnate down there... Amputated limbs, bloodied surgeons... piles of body bags with our Skull on each of them... They all remind me and everyone else so much about the Jovian Wars, blood saturated our soil and formed oceans in those years of turmoil and the thought of it happening again scares the heck outta me. I never thought that the day that aliens fighting on our homes will ever become reality in my lifetime, and yet here we are, more than a hundred thousand dead marines... Warriors... Man, I really need to start expecting the unexpected.

I saw John's face after the week long siege, it looked exactly like when he realized the consequences of the orders he gave on Titan all those years back. Those scars burned deep into his heart and soul while the blood on his hands has been ingrained into his flesh, and I could tell that he's trying but failing to face it. He'll be dead from all the burden of guilt and trauma he's carrying the moment he puts down his rifle and stops donning his armor, he needs an antidote, someone by his side to share that burden... That pain... It's something that we as brothers and sisters in arms can't do.

I really hope that he'll find someone who he truly loves one day, because I can't imagine my best brother, an emotionally helpless man living his life in solitude and pain until his final breath...

END ENTRY


	9. Close and Far from Home

_Shepard opened his eyes and found himself staring a familiar sky, the skies of Titan. "What the…" He muttered in confusion as he stood up to scan his surroundings and in them, he found himself standing in a mobile command center with a large crowd of civilians yelling slogans in front of them. "That's… Me." He wondered in more confusion until he started linking the dots._

"_The orange skies, me standing on a mobile CIC... " No, this couldn't be..._

_Someone then spoke on the comms, and Shepard listened. "This is Lieutenant Krause, the locals are not happy with us. They're throwing rocks and empty glass bottles at my unit as of now." The Lieutenant reported through the comms until there was a sudden explosion._

"_Shit, we got dirty bombs and gunfire all around us! They have us surrounded, we have multiple Gears KIA and WIA! We need help. NOW!" A desperate and shocked voice yelled. "Johnson, hold that line, we can't…" Another explosion occurred and the comms on that side came to an abrupt end._

_Shepard turned towards the direction of the explosion, two large pillars of smoke could be seen from his position with the glowing orange of fire illuminating from behind the medium-sized buildings across the crowded plaza and from below the ascending smoke pillars, he then turned to the other Shepard and ran towards him as the Shepard of the past started talking on his earpiece._

"_No, don't you give the order!" The Major yelled in desperation._

"_It's too late." A voice echoed in his head as he started hearing well-synced gunfire close to his position and started seeing blood splattering all around him and becoming a thick mist of red in the air._

_He then blinked once and when he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in front of a pile of bodies, each of them a horrified expression of either shock or pain, they all had bullet wounds all over their body. In a sudden and unexpected moment, each of their dead faces turned towards Shepard, their cold, empty and lifeless eyes staring at the Major. It felt as if they were seeping deep into his very soul._

_Shepard turned away from the horrific carnage and he suddenly found himself floating on an ocean of blood, he could barely see a shoreline and tried to swim towards it but the blood suddenly became muddy and it started dragging him down. He struggled to shrug it off but it only made things harder for him, he didn't stop until the blood consumed him whole and he could see nothing but red and smell nothing but blood. He began to struggle for air as blood swelled his lungs and made breathing all but impossible, the Major tried swimming back up but he could only feel himself going deeper into the abyss. Moments later, he started feeling himself lose consciousness and was about to close his eyes..._

"NO!" He darted from his bed while yelling in a terrified tone, he scanned his surroundings and found himself in his bedroom. He then stared down at his own hands and started weeping in agony. "No matter how hard I try, they're still coming back..." He lamented in despair as he stood up from his bed. He walked to his desk and swept the books on it to the ground in anguished frustration and remorse before hopelessly kneeling before it. "When will it stop…" He asked no one in particular with a sad whisper as he started weeping again.

It took him 15 full minutes to recover from the trauma, he then looked at the clock, it was 6 in the morning, he stood up and tidied the mess he made before walking out of room. He started walking downstairs when he heard robotic yelling and a girly sound of struggle, he rushed downstairs and saw Sunset in a brawl with his home's handmaiden bot.

"Miss, you cannot leave! You cannot leave! Please refrain from leaving, please refrain from leaving." The latter repeatedly urged in a forceful tone with it's feminine but robotic voice as Sunset slammed at it with everything she had. The bot was full of scratches across its plate, likely 'battle damages' from holding Sunset back.

"What's going on here?" Shepard forcibly demanded with a yell.

The brawling stopped and the two turned to Shepard. "The Miss here has been looking all over for you, sir." The bot reported in a slightly relieved tone as it looked around itself. "Though she caused quite a carnage to the house in doing so."

Shepard made a glance next to the handmaiden bot and realized that a cleaning drone and some vases on the left, along with a wooden chair and a lamp on the right were destroyed in their brawl. He walked down what was left of his stairs and stared down at the slightly shorter Sunset. "You do know that this is my house and they…" He pointed at the destroyed chair and lamp. "Cost me a lot of money, right?" He asked in a intimidating and authoritative tone.

Sunset lowered her head with an expression of fear and shame and as Shepard looked at her face, his heart pounded hard for some reason and he couldn't bear scolding her. He patted her by the shoulder and Sunset looked up, she didn't try to fight him off this time. "If you have something for me, just find me upstairs or dial my number with the phone I gave, alright?" He said as compassionate as possible before turning towards the handmaiden bot. "I'll go make breakfast for her, you go and clean up this mess." He ordered

The bot nodded and went to work while the Major began walking towards the kitchen, as he was about to enter the mediocrely sized cooking room, he heard something unexpected from Sunset. "Joh...n." She uttered with some difficulty as evident by her stuttering.

The Major turned towards her with a surprised look, he quickly walked back towards Sunset and looked at her into the eye. "You can speak, Sunset?" He quickly asked, very eager for an answer.

She pointed at him with her left hand's index finger. "Joh… John." She repeated with slightly less difficulty this time.

"And you?" Shepard asked.

This time, she pointed at herself. "Sun… Sunset." She replied.

Shepard made a small grin at that. "Yes that's it! I'm John and you're Sunset." He eagerly confirmed.

"John…" Sunset said again with much less difficulty than the second time as she pointed at John before doing the same to herself. "Sunset." She hesitantly uttered.

Happy with her response but realizing that he had no time to waste, Shepard checked the time on the watch strapped to his left wrist and turned from away from Sunset as he started walking back towards the kitchen. "Have yourself prepared for breakfast, Sunset. I'll have it ready for swallowing in a moment." He ordered as he walked.

* * *

"So… Are you certain that this is their home system?" Councillor Sparatus asked as he read the report from his omni-tool while Tevos and Valern read theirs in silence. At Sparatus' question, the two looked at Saren and Desolas

Saren took a step forward. "We cannot be certain, Councillors. But I am more than positive that this is the unknown's territory." He admitted.

"Then we shall…" Tevos' words were interrupted when Valern's omni-tool beeped.

"Excuse me." Valern apologetically said as he checked the report, his usually emotionless expression became that of annoyance and frustration as he kept reading from his omni-tool. When he finished, his look was that of shock. "What have those four-eyed morons done?" He muttered as he closed the report.

"What is it?" Tevos asked with concern with Sparatus looking at Valern, waiting for an answer.

"The Hegemony has launched an attack on the very system SPECTRE Arterius had explored under our orders." He revealed. "It would seem that they have been following the SPECTRE's fleet during his mission." He added.

"What happened in the system?" Sparatus immediately pushed.

"One moment, I have a visual recording sent by STG." Valern replied as he turned towards a Citadel Guard. "Seal off this chamber." He ordered.

The guard nodded and left the Council chambers with the rest of the retinue. Valern then activated a hologram and the playing the battle began. "The entire battle took an entire week, so STG technicians have processed it before having the report sent to us." He disclaimed as they watched.

They saw the massive Batarian fleet decimate the tiny defense fleet on orbit with heavy casualties, and then deploying troops to the planet surface and witnessed them commencing orbital bombardment on the planet. "Orbital bombardment… Batarians would want slaves, not dead meat. That means either the Batarians brought some really terrible troops or the unknowns have a formidable ground force." Sparatus calculatively noted.

"But… Considering the size of their fleet, the latter is more likely." Valern concluded with a tinge of fear, highly unusual for a Salarian.

"Regardless of their intentions, the Batarians have violated one of the most rigorously enacted law in the Citadel. They must answer for this crime against civilization." Tevos said, her ego getting the better of herself.

The recording then showed the arrival of the COG reinforcements, the fleet was massive, far more massive than anything Saren had ever seen barring the defenses of Palaven. "Spirits…" He muttered.

Everyone then watched as the Batarian fleet got mowed down by energy weapons emitted by the warships of the unknowns. "Energy weapons… What beasts have the Batarians awoken?" Desolas wondered out aloud in a faltering voice as the hulls of Batarian ships got vaporized even by grazing beams of the energy weapon.

The video finally ended when giant soldiers in black armor destroyed the bridge of a Batarian dreadnought, condemning the bridge crew on the deck a slow, cold and painful death. "Goddess…" Even Tevos' arrogance faltered at the sight of such brutality.

As the hologram closed, the Councillors looked at each other and then at Saren. "We can only turn a blind eye to this incident…" Tevos started, her voice trembling slightly.

"Turn a blind eye? How in spirits' grace can we turn a blind eye to this... atrocity?" Sparatus retorted. "The Batarians have committed one of the greatest crimes they could have ever done and got humiliated by some new power on the galactic stage, that accursed Batarian ambassador could be here any moment to cry like an infant for all I can tell." He explained.

The moment he finished, a guardsmen marched into the chambers. "Councillors, the ambassador of the Batarian Hegemony demands an audience, he claims that he has urgent matters to discuss." He reported, his expression was that of annoyance.

Tevos looked at Valern, then at glared at Sparatus. "I hate you, Sparatus." She told his Turian colleague as she sighed in annoyance and frustration.

"Councillors, I can escort the ambassador back to his office if you wish so." Saren suggested.

"No, it's fine Saren, bring him in." Tevos ordered as she turned to Desolas. "Captain Arterius, we'll have this conversation at another time." She said.

"Indeed, in the meantime, please compile a detailed report of your findings to Citadel Joint Species Command, they have been requesting one ever since you reported mission success." Sparatus said. "Dismissed."

The two brothers made a chest salute before leaving the chambers to do their respective tasks. As the two left the chambers, Desolas turned to Saren. "Alright little brother, I'll be on the ship, you…" He turned and saw the Batarian Ambassador. "Good luck." He said before walking off, he didn't even salute the ambassador as he walked past him.

Saren made a sarcastic chuckle. "Curse you, Desolas." He muttered when the ambassador was a few steps before him.

"Ambassador, the Councillors have granted you your demanded audience, follow me." He greeted with a tinge of annoyance as he gestured for the guards to open the chamber doors. He then stood behind the ambassador as the Batarian proudly strode into the room.

Once the Ambassador stood before the podium, Sparatus started speaking. "I hope you have a good reason for an emergency audience, Ambassador." He authoritatively started, with the addressing of title Ambassador having a little bit of venom.

"I bring grim news from the Hegemony, the unknown civilization has attacked us once again. This time our great Admiral Amon along with his fleet have heroically sacrificed their lives in the heat of battle, along with an uncountable amount of civilian ships." He said.

Tevos glanced at Sparatus. It was exactly as he said, the Batarians would come complaining about it. She then turned to the Ambassador. "Ambassador, would you please tell us where they attacked?"

"They attacked us beyond Relay 314!" He immediately replied.

"And that system is supposed to be under Hierarchy jurisdiction." Sparatus noted. "Why is a Batarian fleet in the area without approval from the local peacekeeping fleet?"

"We were escorting civilian vessels to their destination, that was all." The ambassador defended.

"And such simple missions could be easily handled by contacting the local peacekeeping force and shouldn't warrant an entire fleet." Valern retorted. "We know what your hegemony did, ambassador. You will fight this war alone if they come for you." He declared, with Tevos glancing at her Salarian colleague in surprise, it was uncommon for him to make such a bold statement.

The ambassador went ballistic. "This is outrageous! We of the Hegemony are under your protection!" He yelled.

"And you would be if you had abide by Citadel law." Sparatus retorted.

The Councillors looked down on the ambassador as his face was red with livid. "This… This will not stand!" He stuttered. "Consider our membership to this useless governmental body null!" He yelled and then strode out of the chambers with a guard escorting him.

Saren then turned to the Councillors, and Tevos glared at Valern. "Why did you do this, Valern?"

"We cannot win this war, this civilization will most definitely decimate everything we hold dear if we intervene." The Salarian defended as he turned to Sparatus, who nodded in agreement.

"While it is uncharacteristic of Valern to do such a thing, I have to agree, not even the Hierarchy could deal with such a powerful enemy, not at least until we have a proper military build-up." He said after some contemplation. "I suggest that we silently abolish the Treaty of Farixen to give our respective militaries the ability to prepare ourselves if these aliens decide to attack us for whatever reason they have." He suggested.

"I second that motion." Valern said. "And I would request the Dalatrasses to start diverting more STG assets to the nearby regions to set up an early warning system in the event that these unknowns decide to encroach on our territory." He added as he turned to Tevos.

Realizing that she had already been outvoted without even talking, she lowered her head and exhaled in submission. "I suppose I have no choice in the matter then." She said before glancing at Saren, who was standing at attention. "SPECTRE Arterius, you are to go to Omega and broker a treaty with Aria T'loak, with the Batarians gone, she is now be the only stabilizing influence in the Terminus system and the Attican Traverse." She ordered.

Saren made a chest salute. "I shall not fail, for the sake of the galaxy's peace." He said.

* * *

Shepard made a deep breath as he checked the time on his watch for the tenth time since he had gotten to the House of Representatives thirty minutes ago, he was sure he wasn't late for the meeting with the representatives but the fact that they had him waiting three corridors away was getting on his nerves.

A Gear donning the dark blue armor and helmet of the Guard of the House then marched towards Shepard as he grumbled something gibberish in annoyance. He made a salute as he stopped three steps in front of the Major. "Major John Clifford Shepard?" He asked.

Shepard nodded. "In the flesh, guardsman." He nonchalantly replied.

The guard did not flinch at the casual reply. "The House is ready for the hearing, I will be taking you to them." The guard bluntly announced and as he turned around to lead the Major to the hearing chamber, Shepard's phone rang.

"Excuse me, I'll be back in a moment." He embarrassingly apologized as he picked the phone and accepted the call. "This is John Shepard." He greeted on the phone.

"John…" A feminine voice called, it was Sunset's.

"Sunset? Why are you calling?" He asked in rapid succession.

"Whe… Air…... A… R… You…" She stuttered with a worried tone, she was still struggling to speak despite being able to speak her own name and Shepard's.

"I'm in the House of Representatives, I have a meeting to attend to. I'll be back to you later, alright?" Before Sunset could reply, Shepard cut the call and turned to the Guardsman. "I'm ready." He affirmed.

The guardsman nodded and proceeded to bring him to the room. As Shepard walked, he could see various civil servants working, with many carrying pile after pile of bureaucratic documents with assistance from robots. Gears stood guard at every corridor until he reached the room entrance, where an entire squad of Gears stood guard.

"This is Major Shepard, he is scheduled for a hearing with the Committee of war." The guard who led him there spoke.

The lead guard nodded. "Computer, activate retinal scanners and vocal verifiers." He ordered as everyone around Shepard distanced themselves from him. A mechanical arm darted from the thick mechanical doors to the chambers, a stationary bot that looked like twin eyeballs slowly expanded from the arm.

"Retinal scanners activated, please stand still." A computerized voice ordered.

Shepard then stood still as a beam of light beamed into his eyes, aside from the irritance, it felt nothing. "Retinal scans complete and verified." The voice spoke again. "Vocal verifiers activated, please state serial number." Shepard then recited his serial number and moments later, the stationary drone beeped a green light and retracted back into the arm, which in turn compressed itself back into the chamber doors..

The lead guard then turned to Shepard. "Sir, I respectfully request that you leave all weapons and communication devices to our keeping until you leave the chamber." He said. "This is for the safety of all occupants in the room." He emphasized the word 'safety'.

Shepard grunted in annoyance at the paranoia that those protocols were centered around but complied with the request. "Alright, I brought a concealed combat knife, a pistol and my phone." He revealed as he took out and handed the things he mentioned to a guard.

Two guards then brought metal scanners to his side and made some scans. Afterwards, one of them turned to the lead Guardsman. "He's clean, sir." He said as they returned to their posts.

The lead guardsman nodded. "Sir, you're cleared for entry." He said as the mechanical doors slid opened.

Shepard nodded his thanks and then walked into the chambers. He saw thirty representatives sitting in front of a desk with the remaining hundreds more sitting behind them. He glanced left and saw President Prescott standing on the far end of the chamber, observing the Major from afar. "Ah, Major Shepard. Please, take a seat." The Representative of Switzerland greeted.

Shepard complied and took a seat. "Major, do you know why you are in this hearing?" The Representative of Japan asked.

"I was being made aware that I am to report my experience in the Siege of Heavengate that took place a few days ago prior to my arrival to Earth." He replied, he didn't bother to add his mission to convince them to permit national mobilization.

"You are correct, now let us hear your report." The Representative of Mars said, she turned to a clerk and the clerk nodded, she pressed a few buttons and the lights turned off. A hologram of Heavengate then materialized in-between the Major and the Representatives.

Shepard stood up. "Sirs and Madams, as you can see, this is Heavengate." He began. "While I was serving on the battlefront there, I saw the barbarism of our ancestors. I saw the pain of slavery and oppression with my bare eyes." He said.

An image of the slaves saved in Heavengate then materialized, it was taken from a frame in Shepard's combat helmet during the raid on the base. "These are only a fraction of the slaves that we've rescued during the week long siege, we've estimated that more than two hundred thousand slaves were brought into the battle but there won't be exact numbers until at least tomorrow." He said.

"My point is, my respected representatives, is that we can't let the mistakes of our ancestors repeat in some other civilization. Learning the brutality of these violations of human rights from our textbooks is terrible enough, we can't let it become reality for our children." He concluded.

"So, I would plead that you grant President Prescott the emergency powers needed to prepare ourselves for the upcoming struggle." He said.

"But we have beaten the Batarians on Heavengate, surely our current defenses should suffice." The Representative of Unified Korea noted.

Shepard's expression turned into that of anger and shock, he wanted to yell how dared he say those words when so many had died but he managed to calm himself. "Yes, we did beat them back but at what cost?" Shepard asked. "We lost 100,000 men on the rock that we turned into the Galaxy's gate to Sol. That's a hundred thousand families who have just lost their husbands, their wives or even their children and parents, representatives."

"How many more families would have to suffer from losing their loved ones just because we are unwilling to prepare ourselves for an inevitable invasion?" He asked. "And mark my word, Representatives, this is nothing in comparison to what the enemy could do. This was one fleet of misfits, and their numbers almost overwhelmed us. They have dozens of fleets that can raze worlds." He affirmed.

"And we have hundreds of fleets that can obliterate entire star sectors." A Representative yelled from his seat, his tone showing his denial of Shepard's assertion.

"Which can be used only if we prepare them. What use is a fleet of planet-destroying warships to us if we don't man, maintain, and lead them? This is precisely what we lack right now, a national mobilization is what we need now!" He retorted.

The representatives looked at each other before the Representative of Japan turned towards Shepard. "Thank you for your input, Major Shepard. Your strategic knowledge and experience in the battlefield will be invaluable for our next decision. This hearing is hereby adjourned. Be sure to return on the day the voting is made." He ended as the holograms evaporated into nothingness while the lights of the chamber turned back on.

The Major then saluted and left the chamber, with some of the representatives doing the same. "John!" Someone yelled from behind, the Major turned to the source of the call, it was the Representative of Hong Kong, Gilbert Jeremiah Shepard, his older brother.

"Brother!" Shepard greeted and embraced his brother with a brotherly hug. "Sorry for not calling, Gil. I've been preoccupied by all the things at home the moment I was back." He apologized. "Heavengate has been quite rough."

Gilbert shook his head. "Already forgiven, brother. Come on, let's go have lunch together. It's been a long time since we shared a table together."

"Yeah, it is." They then walked for the entrance of the House.

As they were a corridor away from the entrance, Gilbert glanced at his brother. "So… How has life on the field been for you?" He asked. John didn't reply until he was steps from leaving the House building, as he was about to reply, he heard someone yell outside.

"Stop it right there, Ma'am!" A Guardsman yelled as he attempted to subdue a woman, the two Shepards rushed outside to see what was happening and when they got a clear view of the scene, they saw Sunset successfully stunning a guardsman as she landed a kick to his helmet's left side and dislocated his arm with a twist. The red-haired woman then snatched his rifle from his other hand and threw it aside before landing another kick to the chest that knocked the guardsman to the ground.

As the guard lied on the marble ground of the House entrance, groaning in pain, the other guards raised their weapons at Sunset. "Weapons down, guardsmen!" John stepped forward and yelled. He walked up to the lead guard and pushed his Lancer down. "I said weapons down! This woman is under my custody." He said.

The guards begrudgingly lowered their weapons as one of them lifted the wounded guard back up. As the guards stared at Sunset, who in turn stared at them like a fierce tiger, the younger Shepard turned to the woman, who noticed her savior's glare. "I thought I said I would be back soon, why are you here?" He asked in slight anger as he stared into her emerald eyes.

"I… Don't… Know..." She explained to the best of her ability as she lowered her head like a child being scolded. "Just… Want to… Be… With you…" She stuttered as the wounded guard from earlier being taken to be tended to.

Upon hearing her explanation, John empathetically looked at the woman, she was worried about him and he scolded her for her goodwill. He exhaled in regret and surrender. "Just… Don't do it next time. These guards are not friendly to anyone, even if you're in a way, connected to someone like me." He ordered.

Sunset then raised her head and nodded. "Under...sta… and…" She replied.

John then turned to Gilbert, who had caught up with his younger brother and was standing behind him. "Gil, this is Sunset…" He turned to Sunset. "Sunset, this is Gilbert, he's my older brother." He introduced. "My only blood-related sibling." He added.

Gilbert extended his hand "It's a pleasure to…" Before he could finish, Sunset entered a fighting pose, her fierce stare reignited once again, but on the older Shepard instead of the guards. The guards saw her aggressiveness and was about to raise their weapons again.

As tension between her and the guards increased once again, John stepped in between his brother and the passive-aggressive woman that she took in. "Sunset… Stand down, Gilbert is not an enemy." the young Shepard immediately ordered in a forceful tone, and Sunset complied.

John didn't turn to his brother, he was too embarrassed to do so. "Sorry about that, brother… I'll tell you about it when we got ourselves sitting for lunch, let's go. I know a buffet we could try in a hotel nearby." He then started walking, with Sunset following him.

As John walked away with Sunset, Gilbert looked at the two shadows his brother and the young woman made in contemplation of what had just happened before joining them on their walk to lunch.

They soon found themselves in a small hotel near the Rhine and they sat on one of it's small diner table. John then paid for the buffet bill and they started grabbing food. "Sunset." John turned to the woman as he called her name. "Go grab yourself some food, and don't get into trouble." He softly ordered.

Sunset nodded, got up and walked to get a tray. He then turned to see Gilbert looking at him, his electric blue eyes asking for an explanation. "Why are you having that 'familt discussion' look? I said I would explain things to you." John said.

Gilbert did not hesitate to start. "What is this all about, brother? Why is she listening to you like she's your pet dog? And why is she that aggressive?" He asked in rapid succession, though in a low voice level. "I've never seen a civilian win a close range fight with a House Guardsman before."

The younger Shepard sighed. "I found her being harassed by a thug in Geneva the day I came home, I took her to the hospital and learned that she was homeless…" His voice then trailed off.

A moment of silence took place before Gilbert spoke. "Because of the war?" He asked and he received a nod in response.

"I then took her in, she's staying at my place and has been adjusting to her new life since then." John said. "I guess she's listening to me because she's scared of this new life that she had never experienced or haven't experienced in a long time." He thought aloud.

Gilbert looked at his brother's expression and sighed a he leaned forward towards him. "Come on brother, the report came out that you were doing the right thing." He said. "They were killing soldiers with guns and Molotov cocktails." He added.

"I know what the report said, but every time I close my eyes while lying on my bed, I was back on either Titan or Mars, every single time I relive those moments, I see bodies… Pile after pile of bodies... Enough to form walls of flesh and oceans of blood." He stared at his own hands. "My hands are full of their blood and they have been burning me up since." He said in remorse.

"And now by taking in this… Sunset, you hope to repent for the sins you think you had committed?" Gilbert assumed.

"Her whole life has been one of survival, Gil. I hope that by giving her a chance at a kind of life a woman deserves, I can do the only good thing I would have ever done…" He confirmed. "So that if I die, I can die in relief, knowing that I put a piece of this shattered world back together." He gripped his fists hard as he said those words.

Gilbert was astonished and at the same time, scared by his younger brother's motive, he didn't like the way it's going. "But… John, she doesn't even know how to speak…" Gilbert started. "She may have the face of a human but I don't think she's qualified to be one of us… At all." He questioned.

John stared at his older brother, his same electric blue eyes demanding an explanation. "Like you said, her whole life has been a battlefield, how can you expect her to adapt a life that is completely different from her last one? She acts on instinct, we act after thinking." He elaborated. "We're two different dimensions…"

"Even so… I will still take her in. If she doesn't know how to speak or write, then I will teach her. If she doesn't understand herself, then I shall help her find herself. If she has been experiencing the coldness of the human heart for all her life, then I shall give her the feeling of warmth… I would do anything it takes to protect her and give her a life that everyone deserves, Gil." His reply left no room for argument.

Gilbert, upon seeing his brother's determination, decided that it would have been a futile attempt to sway his thoughts had he continued doing so. He stood up with a tray in hand. "I'll go get some food, what would you like?" He asked, trying to change the topic as he saw Sunset coming back with her tray of food.

John smiled, he could tell of his older brother's attempt to change topic of discussion and he gladly accepted it. "Some fried dumplings and mutton curry, please." He replied. "Oh and some rice for the curry!" He added.

"Alright." Gilbert responded after a chuckle as Sunset walked past him, he glanced at her tray and noticed that she took three pieces of steak and some broccoli with cheese as her main course, with some Caesar salad on the left, probably as a starter dish. 'Why does she feel familiar...' He thought as he walked to get the food.

They soon got and finished their lunch buffet and were about to go their separate ways when Gilbert turned to John. "Hey John, I'll try my best to sway the House into preparing for the war you speak of but with the majority of the House being pacifists..." He trailed off, knowing deep in his mind that the outcome may not be favorable. He continued. "Just... Be prepared for the worst." He forced himself to say.

John grinned as he patted his brother's left shoulder. "Got it brother."

Gilbert nodded and turned to Sunset. "And Sunset... Protect my brother." He requested in a slightly demanding tone, without waiting for a reply, he turned to John. "Have a nice day, you two." He bid as he turned to leave.

* * *

The Batarian Ambassador entered his chamber, his face still livid from the refusal of the Council. He turned to his personal guard, who was behind him. "Stand guard outside." He ordered.

The guard did not reply or salute, he merely walked out of the chamber. As the doors slammed shut behind the ambassador, he activated a Quantum Communicator, he knelt just as the image of another Batarian materialized. "What is it, Ambassador?" The Batarian asked in a tone of arrogance.

"My great Hegemon." He started. "I have failed in my mission to divert the Council's support to our cause." He reported. "We are alone in this fight…"

The Hegemon looked impassively at the ambassador before he swore and slammed his fist at something. "Curse those cowards, they shrink like weaklings at the thought of a war with some mere upstarts." He muttered, his arrogant tone replaced by rage.

"What do we do now?" The Ambassador asked.

"For now, we shall withdraw from the wider Galaxy, we will build up our military." The Hegemon replied .

"As you command, my Lord." The Quantum Communicator then shut down and the Ambassador stood up. He tapped into his omni-too. "Prepare for departure, we no longer have a place on this station of cowards." He ordered before grabbing a bottle of Asari wine, he grabbed a glass from a rack and poured some of the purplish blue alcohol into it.

* * *

GILBERT'S AUDIO DIARY

LOG- 2020

I met John today, he looked sad and tired as usual, but that look on his face when Representative Kim said that current defenses would suffice... Heavengate must have really as hard as he had said while we were having lunch along the Rhine. I, for a split moment in my heart, wanted to shut him up for the sake of his life.

Then there was that... Living weapon I met today, Sunset. I am astonished at what she's capable of, she effortlessly took down a Guardsman, something unheard of in history. Despite her martial capabilities, she couldn't even speak like a normal human being. I couldn't and still cannot fathom the reasoning behind John's adoption of that sorry excuse of a human but when I stared into his eyes today, I can see his desire to repent... To do what he thought was right, it was a stupid reason since he didn't do any wrong but still bore the blame.

I can't convince him to stop, but at least I can bless him and give him the best of luck, that's the least I can do as a brother.


	10. Building Up

**Hope ya'll enjoy this new chapter. As a reminder, please remember to give me a review at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

"Ugh… This is not going to do." Gilbert mumbled as he checked and double checked the documents on his desk, he managed to buy some time for a speech at the House but with the materials he had on his table… "Might as well cancel it." He muttered.

The memory of John and Sunset on the day he had lunch with them then flashed across his mind again and he groaned in annoyance, the thought of his younger brother trying to protect what he considered as nothing but a mere weapon concerned him greatly. "Why am I even thinking…" He muttered to himself. "He's not the five year old kid from the orphanage anymore."

'Wait….' He froze. "Orphanage…" He muttered repeatedly before turning to his laptop, he started researching the information he needed on his notes and he found what he exactly needed… Or wanted just as he typed in the keywords. "Yes... That's precisely what I need to help John!" He almost squealed in barely controllable joy as he said those words.

He then started compiling the necessary information into a single file and he started constructing a speech from the information he had gathered. He stared at the speech with the eyes of a man in uncertainty. He then gripped his silver cross pendant hard and held it in his chest "Please Naomi... Please let this work…" He whispered in tears before his phone rang.

He loosened his grip on the pendant and grabbed the phone. "Gilbert speaking." He introduced as he accepted the call.

"Hello, Gil."

Gilbert froze at voice.

The next morning he saw John and Sunset waiting on the entrance of the House as he left his hover car, his brother in his military jacket and his living weapon in civilian clothing. "Hey John!" He greeted as he patted his brother's shoulder.

John smiled. "Heard you bought some time for a speech!" He said. "Anything I should know before we go in?" He asked.

"No spoilers brother, but…. you got any tissue paper?" Gilbert asked in reply. "Might bring back some old memories and when that happens, you're gonna need it." He briefly explained as he strode into the House.

"I'll hold you onto that!" John yelled from behind as he followed his older brother in.

They soon went separate ways with Gilbert waited from behind the podium while John and Sunset watched from the far-end of the meeting chamber.

The meeting soon started and Gilbert's name was called upon, he slowly walked up to the podium and he started his speech even though the House was still full of mutterings. "Naomi Spencer." He started, the name immediately silenced the House as everyone looked to him.

"Naomi was a childhood friend of mine, we served together in the Navy before and during the Jovian Wars under a special-mission unit, she died on my arms at the final battle when we kicked a door down." He introduced. "She was just like many of us in this very chamber, she had loving parents, a happy and prosperous life. But all that changed when her home was hit by a terrorist attack on her fifth birthday. She was sent to an orphanage afterwards, where she grew up with people of similar stories, including myself."

"Now people hearing this story may start asking me: 'why are you bringing her tragedy up? This sounds like anti-war sentiment to me but you're pro-war.' " He continued. "And those people are only half right, this does sound anti-war but I am in fact, like many people…. Even the pro-war representatives here, do not want wars. We've all been through the Jovian Wars three decades ago and we all don't want another taste of it."

Everyone in the chambers then uttered their shock as the situation slowly devolved into yellings, the chairman of the House then demanded silence and bade Gilbert to continue, and he nodded in gratitude. "No war can ever be justified, that we all know but this war I'm calling for… it's not going to stop just because we don't want to fight it. This war will rob us our future as a civilization." He went on. "I brought up Naomi because while her story was a tragedy, she became who she was until her final moments because of it. She had a chance to build her future and she took it."

"Let's throw that sorry debate of 'democracy is the best' out of the window for once and look at what we're facing. This war, if we do not prepare for it, is one that will rob our children the chances of ever finding their spot in this vast world. Now I'm most certainly not saying that a sharp increase of orphans is a good thing, all I'm saying is that this enemy we're fighting is one that will not place more children into orphanages, but into slave pits, where they would get a life far worse than life imprisonment in ADX Florence." The House shut their mouths at that, Gilbert was secretly hoping his speech was working.

"This vote here, will determine whether we will stand tall and fight... Or crawl on the ground and eat dirt for the rest of our lives , along with our children. And I'm sure as hell not eating dirt." He finished before stepping down the podium. Slowly but surely, representatives from everywhere clapped their hands in applause, even some of the guards,who were supposed to stand still at all times, shifted their bodies a little at the end of the speech.

The chairman then called for a break and half an hour later, they voted in support of the national mobilization.

As Gilbert walked out of the House, John stood outside, his expression cheerful and at the same time tearful. "Hell of a speech, Gil." He praised as he slapped his brother's shoulder. "But why the hell did you have to bring Naomi up? I thought you said you don't want to bring her up." He asked. "After she died…"

"I did… But when I realized that her story would probably have a chance, I used it. I just hope she would approve of my actions from the other side, after all I didn't ask for her permission when I used her past." Gilbert responded.

"She would, brother. She has your back, always." John responded before turning around. "She always wanted to do everything in her power to help the people, I'm sure she approves of what you have done." He said. "Now, I'll be going to DB Industries, somebody has an appointment with me there." He said his goodbyes as he started walking towards the nearby bullet train stop.

"Our backs." Gilbert corrected with a smile before something in his mind stroke him. "Oh and by the way, she called me last night…." Gilbert's words stopped John dead in his tracks just as he was meters away from the queue with Sunset. "She… Wants to see us next weekend."

John turned to glance at his brother as Sunset looked at John's reaction in curiosity. "Who is the she you're talking about, you gotta be more specific here, brother." He said, his tone indicating his wish to avoid the conversation he had a feeling was about to begin. "There's a lot of shes that we know of."

"Quit playing a fool, John. You know exactly who I'm talking about." Gilbert retorted. "It's Jane, she wants to see you."

John chuckled sarcastically at that before turning around towards Gilbert. "And why exactly would she want to see my sorry face after what happened all those years ago?" He made a scoff. "And here I thought she doesn't see me as a friend anymore." He muttered. "Not after that day." He then prepared to walk into the train stop again. "Tell her I'll pass."

"She found it." Gilbert simply replied. "She has found the damn recording pen."

John immediately darted back towards his brother, his eyes staring at his brother's, demanding an explanation. The older brother sighed. "Some robber wrecked the her husband's grave to try and get something valuable out of it two days ago. The perpetrator was caught on the spot by the Gears guarding the cemetery but when she was cleaning the man's resting place up after the mess, she found it lying on the coffin."

"Dammit, what kind of bastard would rob a soldier's grave..." John muttered in frustration. There was then a moment of silence shared between the two brothers in the middle of the metropolis as the younger brother digested the story. "Look Gil, I'm not ready to see her." John said after a moment of hesitation. "I'm just not…"

"Well, you have to be, because she's sounded pissed when she called me, and you need to have some of your damn guilt absolved by listening to what she has to say." Gilbert cut his brother off with a blunt statement before walking towards his hover car. "Remember, Norfolk, next weekend." He reminded with a yell one last time as he entered his car and drove away.

"John?" Sunset started as she looked at her savior's back. "Is there anything… I can… Do?" She asked.

"No." John absentmindedly replied before snapping himself back to reality. "No there isn't, Sunset." He said before turning towards her. "Come on, we still have an appointment that we cannot miss." He then rushed to the train stop's long queue, and Sunset followed him closely to it.

* * *

"They're pushing on us!" SPECTRE Tela Vasir yelled as she ducked into cover from overwhelming fire from the mercenary groups. "I'm losing ground here!" She added while replacing her spent heat sink on her rifle.

Saren darted from the pillar he took cover behind and made a biotic throw on the mercenaries, the gravitational energy caused by the throw obliterated a trio of Batarians into a mush of broken meat and bones and stunned a Krogan as it made contact with them. The SPECTRE then took the opportunity and rushed towards Vasir's cover.

"Then we push them back!" Saren replied while panting a little as he fired three shots from his pistol before ducking down. The first shot pinged off a Batarian's shield, the second one broke through it and the third one made a clean kill as it destroyed the mercenary's skull. "We fail this op, we lose the Terminus Systems and the Attican Regions for good." He added before tapping into his omni-tool.

"Nihlus, we need some sniper fire here!" Saren yelled.

"Copy, relocating." He replied and seconds later, bodies started dropping as sniper rounds blew off their heads.

"Now is the right time, Tela." Saren said before vaulting over cover and started firing. Tela soon followed as they cleared the entrance to Aria's clubhouse. The Krogan from before rushed towards Tela and slammed himself into the Asari, she then flew five meters away as the shock stunned her greatly. She was only saved by a biotic barrier she had barely been able to erect before the hit.

The Krogan was then about to finish the stunned Asari SPECTRE with a stomp to the head when Saren leapt onto him and fired three shots into his head with his pistol in point blank rage, the first two shots cracked his shell while the last round broke through it and damaged the brain. The Krogan felt the excruciating pain from the final shot and roared in rage, he grabbed Saren by his left leg and threw him aside, lightly stunning the SPECTRE by pushing the air out of his lungs as he slammed into a metal bar.

The angry reptilian beast then turned around to face the recovering Saren but a shot to the eye by Nihlus put it to rest. He then moved to pull Saren and Tela up as the Krogan body fell to the floor hard, back first. "You two are welcome." He said in a flattered tone as he destroyed the clubhouse doors with his shoulder mounted rocket launcher.

"Actually, I was about to tell you we had this under control." Saren muttered as he grabbed his pistol and holstered it

They then marched into the clubhouse, and found Aria the Queen of Omega staring down on them with three dozen guards by her side. "Bold of you…" She said. "To come in guns blazing, SPECTRE Arterius."

Saren ordered his team to holster their weapons with a gesture. "Well it's not exactly bold when your guards did not give us much of a choice. We only did what we had to do in order to complete our mission." He replied as he raised his claws in defense.

Aria then turned to her lieutenant, who then ordered the guards to lower their weapons. Saren then walked up to Aria face to face while Nihlus and Tela stayed behind. As he walked, Saren could notice the hostilities of the guards through their eyes and he couldn't blame them, after all he had just shown how incapable they were. He then sat on in front of Aria's couch, where she was sitting.

"So… What does the 'esteemed' Citadel Council have for a lawless Queen like me?" She asked.

"The Council is offering a mutually beneficial treaty, I have full authority over the draft of this treaty." Saren answered. "As you may or may not have heard of, the Batarian Hegemony has just left the Citadel and we need a stabilizing influence in the Terminus and Attican regions before the Batarians wreck it to nothing." He bluntly explained.

"I see, and what would you want me to do?"

"Keep the Batarians off our planets and keep them from gaining more mercenaries."

"And what would I have in exchange?" Aria asked again. "Being a varren watching your backdoor has a tall price, after all."

"In exchange, the Turian peacekeeping fleets will ignore all drug smuggling activities related to your business." Saren replied. "And all those shiny credits will be in your pocket, imagine potential you gain with that multiplication in your fortune."

Aria chuckled, and then leaned closer to Saren. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Arterius." She hissed.

Saren growled at Aria in frustration and anger, then lowered his head in comtemplation before staring at the Queen of Omega again. "The Council will purchase twenty tons of eezo from you every month, at a ten percent increase from the average price of each tonne." He offered. "That way, you're gonna have a lot more credits than you could ever make by smuggling them out."

Aria then lied on her couch and crossed her arms, grinning madly after a chuckle. "Hmmm, now that's what you call a fair treaty between the righteous government and the free people, Arterius." She haughtily replied. "Have your Council send the full details of the treaty by the end of the month, I'll have it signed the moment it gets here."

Saren stood up and started walking down with three guards escorting him, he then made a sudden stop and made a glance towards Aria. "What's the date of activation?"

"The day after I sign it." Came the swift reply. "I want the credits in my pocket as soon as possible."

Saren then nodded and walked back towards his team. "Well, that was easy." Tela remarked as they left the clubhouse.

Saren grinned before contacting the Council. The Councillors' images generated in front of the three SPECTREs. "It's done Councillors."

"Applause for your efforts, Arterius. I assume the costs were... Less than satisfactory?" Tevos responded.

"Indeed, Councillors." Came the frustrated reply. "It will deepen our financial burden but will most likely give us additional eezo supplies for our logistical units to deliver to the shipyards." He said. "And it's the best result I could yield from the Queen of Omega, she's been a pain in the neck even though the negotiation process was short and straight to the point."

Sparatus sighed. "Well, it's certainly not higher than starting a galaxy-wide massacre that will humiliate us for eons to come." He muttered. "Return to the Citadel SPECTREs, we need to draw up battle plans with Hierarchy strategists and tacticians in preparation for this mess the Batarians made and for future messes they will most certainly make."

"Understood."

* * *

John and Sunset walked out of the train station, and before them was DB Industries' headquarters. Modeled after the Galaxy Soho Building in Beijing but much more larger and complex, The Major found it hard to not marvel at the aesthetically appealing facility. He turned to Sunset, she looked indifferent as always.

"You must be Major Shepard, the one I was expected to see today!" A voice from the entrance yelled. John turned to the source of the voice and saw none than Damon Baird. "Damon Baird, CEO of DB Industries, at your service." The old man greeted with a bow.

"Mr. Baird, it's an honor to meet the best scientist within the COG's sphere of influence." John returned the greetings with a salute, he then made a gesture towards Sunset, who stood still in this entire ordeal. "This is Sunset Blossoms, she's my… civilian companion." He tried to find the right word but he couldn't. "Rest assured, she's totally harmless so she can most certainly visit your place." He lied a little.

Baird made a skeptical look at Sunset before turning to John. "Alright then, your command cadre is inside, testing their new armor as we speak. I'll take you to yours first before you get to a friendly reunion between brothers and sisters in arms." He said before walking into the building, with the two following him in.

"As you can see, DB Industries is one of the largest contractors in all fields of military science and manufacturing in the COG. We have basically monopolized one-third of all markets related to the military." Baird introduced as they walked. "I'd say this is a good thing but the monopolization of an economy is never good."

John nodded in agreement. "I agree. By the way, I heard you got some new toys for us to use aside from some shiny armor, Mr. Baird." John said as Baird pushed a button to a hovering elevator. The doors for it slid open and the trio entered the facility. "To be honest, I'm surprised we even get the chance to use them first."

"Well, you better start getting used to it." Baird replied as he pushed the button to the lowest floor of the complex. "COGSOCOM has informed me that your unit along with that other battalion under late-Major Gregory have been reorganized into an entirely new category in the military, courtesy to reforms by Mendez that were supposedly implemented years ago."

John looked at the CEO inquisitively. "What do you mean reorganized?"

"You're no longer Commandos, Major." Baird said. "You're officially being reorganized into the Department of Multi-Domain Warfare Development Group, otherwise known as Task Force 141 or DEMOGroup."

"That's one stupid ass name for a group, and it lacks creativity." John jokingly remarked. "And since when did I have two battalions under my command? Lat I checked, I wasn't promoted to the rank of Commander."

The CEO shrugged. "Hey the creation of the name was not my call, blame Command for that goofy name." He replied. "And to be real frank with you, I have no idea on what's in Mendez's head, this decision is a major breach in the chain of command." He admitted.

The elevator soon stopped and the three walked out of it. What John saw next amazed him. "Holy mother of lord…" He muttered. Before him was a massive factory, producing battle bots at an inconceivably quick rate. John watched in awe as an extremely bulky humanoid battle bot got assembled in a matter of seconds with its shell taking shape all by itself around the processor of the bot like liquid having it's core submerged.

John could hear Baird chuckle as the bot finished taking its form. "Awesome stuff over there, right? They're assembled with nanotech, a mixture of nano-bots and nanoalloys used regularly on our armor. These bots gives you boys new, cheap and overpowered manpower, all of them capable of holding a rifle." He explained as the bot was replaced by another in his spot.

John nodded and he took a glance at another assembly line, and he saw suit after suit of armor. Bulky, intimidating suits of armor. "What are those?" He asked as he witnessed one of the suits got something looking like a crossbow attached to its right forearm. The suit was then relocated by mechanical arms as another uncompleted suit took it's place.

"Follow me if you want answers." Baird simply said as he walked to a chamber.

John and Sunset followed him and entered it. Inside the chamber was a completed suit of the armor, as well as new weapons. The armor looked much bulkier up close, and John could see synthetic muscles all over it, it seemed to him that it was an upgraded Hercules Armor. There were three weapons next to the armor, one glowing Lancer with two barrels of different calibers and with railing systems over the handguard's sides and top; one gun that looked like a SIG MCX Spear made in the late 2010s but with illuminating lights; and lastly a pistol that resembled an AR-15 with a pistol handguard and a rifle caliber pistol brace as the stock, the receivers looked compact and it had what looked like a low capacity magazine attached to the chamber and as with the other guns, it was illuminating with glowing lights too.

"Major Shepard, this is our next generation combat kit for all Gears." Baird announced cheerily. "This armor is the Slayer Class Powered Assault Armor. It is the most advanced armor we've ever designed. Using three thick layers of nanoalloys and two layers of nanobots, this beast can even help you take a hit from a centaur tank. The nanobots will also help repair your armor." He explained as he pressed a button, the armor then formed into a bracelet, it looked too thick for John's taste as it most likely meant it would be uncomfortable to wear.

"It can turn on and off at your will." He explained as he handed the bracelet to John. John took it gladly and turned the armor on after putting the bracelet on, it felt surprisingly light as he put it on. He then felt something sting his skin as the nanoalloys covered his body, an annoying but minimal pain was then felt in his head as the his HUD was activated.

"Neural-link connection, stable." A computerized voice declared after the headache was over. The Major looked at his surroundings and realized that his visor is polarized to protect his eyesight, he turned to Sunset, she was staring the armor in awe.

"The armor's neurally connected with you, making this armor your second skin. You can feel everything coming at you, from the chilling breeze of Moscow to the hailing of bullets, though the system was designed in such a way that the latter's stimulation would be downplayed to a mere nuisance." Baird explained, gaining John's attention. "Your armor is equipped with boosters, shoulder-mounted weapons and forearm-mounted weaponry. You can activate them at your will by the neural link."

"Your left shoulder is equipped with a grenade launcher whose grenades are made from nanoalloys and chemicals, which are continuously replicated in the bracelet at an astronomical rate, giving you practically unlimited ammunition."

"Your right shoulder has a magnetic rotary gun that fires explosive caseless point-fifty calibers at a rate of 10,000 rounds per minute, they're also made from nanoalloys replicated in the bracelet and the gun is powered by the armor's power source."

"Wait, what and where is the power source for this armor?" John cut with a question. "Don't tell me it's in the bracelet." He said as he glanced at his bracelet.

"The main power source of your armor is a crystal, it's reactor miniaturized to the point that it's only the size of a medium-sized palm but provides virtually unlimited energy. It is situated at your chest, when the armor is activated, the power core will be like a boat on a current of nanoalloys, being guided to your chest and buried deep behind all layers of armor. You also have a miniaturized hydrogen fusion reactor situated next to your rear boosters. They power everything in your armor, EMP proof."

John made a relieved sigh, at least he wouldn't have to refrain from using his arm to its maximum potential in combat and look out for EMP blasts.

"Anyways, continuing from where you cut me off, your right forearm is equipped with a crossbow module, it gathers hydrogen at an extremey quick rate and superheats them to make them a few thousand degrees hotter than plasma, that energy is then contained in a powerful magnetic field and you can decide whether to make a large but weaker radius blast or a concentrated beam. You can use it once every five minutes."

"Woah, that's some firepower right there. What about my left arm?"

"I'm not finished yet, your right arm's crossbow can also be converted into an energy sword and it will be enough to punch through anything you like, lasts practically forever." Baird quickly finished before inhaling a deep breath. "Now, to the left forearm! Your left arm is equipped with a nano-shield that can be raised at a moment's notice, you'll also have a nano-blade module in it, you can unsheathe it anytime you want if there's a sword fight, if you lose the sword, the bracelet will make you a new one. In addition, the armor's left fist has been designed in such a way that it's durability is ten times greater than the right fist, allowing great punches or blocks, could save you a lot of time circling around a place."

"Now, onto your handheld weapons!" Baird lifted the Lancer. "this here, is the Mark IV Lancer. Unlike the previous iterations, this bad boy uses the same type of crystal power core in your armor that is situated in this magazine, which can be detached to switch to a new one should the current one gets damaged or overheats."

"Your Lancer is equipped with an energy shotgun integrated below the barrel for the energy bolt, just push the button over the handguard and it'll fire. By the way, your Lancer now uses nanoalloys for it's chainsaw bayonet, and it's powered by heats sinks that gathers heat from firing the energy bolts, if there's no heat, then it'll get energy straight from the crystal core. We've also installed rails on the handguard and upper receiver to give free-range accessories." Baird then handed the rifle to John, who took a closer look.

"That's one modular son of a bitch." He muttered. "But a bulky one, guess that is where the synthetic muscles come in?"

Baird nodded as he grabbed the final rifle. "Last but not least is the Spear Marksman Rifle!" Baird said, completely ignoring John as he marveled at his own creation. "This gun is the very definition of a purely-ranged weapon. This rifle makes use of two miniaturized antimatter power cores instead of one crystal core, each shot fired from this bastard is a shot that can penetrate five meters' worth of titanium, followed by a massive boom that's the equivalent of five C4s. The only downside of this gun is that you need reloading after twenty shots. You can use this as a sniper rifle or anti-tank rifle should you wish."

"By the way, that AR-15 is called the EP-15, fires energy bolts like the lancer, selective fire but gets a faster rate of fire at the cost of overheating quicker and less accuracy if you decide to run on full auto. The thing is also as modular as the old thing back in the day, at least in terms of accessories."

John maintained a moment of silence as he stared at the Spear rifle before speaking. "Now Mr. Baird, all of this sound fantastic and cool… But it makes me wonder where you got all this fancy tech. Last I checked, the COG has nothing half as advanced as these." He said with a grain of skepticism as he grabbed the Spear from Baird's hands and holstered it unto his armor's back weapons lock. "And I'm pretty sure a private firm won't have technology as advanced and as large-scaled as these."

Baird made an eyebrow at him, then grinned. "Classified." Came the simple but non-negotiable reply.

The Major scoffed. "Huh, why did I expect that coming?" He wondered aloud as he holstered the EP-15 into his side weapons lock.

"Come on, that's the easiest and most sensible answer anyone could come up with." Baird replied. "Now, if you follow me to the other chamber, you'll be witnessing the largest project we've ever done for the Army." He then walked to another chamber, and the armored John and the now comparatively smaller Sunset followed him.

They soon entered a chamber and found themselves surrounded by pods filled with semi-transparent blue liquid, each with a human inside. "What in the actual… Fuck?" John muttered, the scene reminding him of the scary stories of evil scientists making mad projects he used to hear back in the orphanage. "These guys feel like something ripped out of Frankenstein." He remarked. "Those stories gave me the creeps back in the day…"

"These are artificially grown humans, Major." Baird said after a scoff. "They represent what we should be… The peak of human evolution. Each of them excels at everything we can do, hell they are even more fertile than most of humanity." Baird added.

"Their DNA structure is based on that of a human and every batch of these artificial humans have randomized gene sets from our diverse genetic database so as to devoid them of any potential mass deficiencies." He went on. "They'll be in the same type of armor as you're currently on and they'll act as a new generation of soldiers for the COG."

"Do they have any form of combat training or education? Or I should say, what's the extent of their military training." A voice from behind asked. John turned and found Cole, Tanner and Helen in their respective armors too. "I would hate to waste time teaching these guys to read or write when we could teach them how to aim a gun without accidentally discharging them and causing a blue on blue accident." Tanner said as he turned to John and Sunset. "Major." He gave a nod.

"Guys." John replied.

Cole shifted his head towards Sunset. "So this is Sunset, the reason that you called us off when we were about to crash into your place for a beer?" He asked. John nodded in confirmation.

Helen and Cole snickered while Tanner grinned. "Ah, no wonder, she looks great." The Captain remarked as he leaned towards the Major's left ear. "Lucky you, you son of a bitch."

"Cut it out, you three." John forcibly ordered.

"Gra… ate?" Sunset repeated in curiosity.

"Not now, Sunset." John uttered as he turned to Baird, who was waiting for the group to settle down. The Major gestured for the CEO to continue.

"These humans in these pods have received multiple training sessions once a month, even when they're in these tanks, we would pump chemicals into their heads to keep their brains running on training in multiple ways. They would virtually be training in a chemically-induced dream, finding ways to complete missions and learn stuff that we send to their brains."

Everyone except for Sunset looked at each other, shrugged and then turned back to the scientist and CEO with a perplexed look. "Uh, care to translate that from a pile of bullshit to the straight and simple to understand English, sir?" Tanner asked after a few seconds of silence.

Baird grumbled in annoyance. "Basically speaking, every one of these test-tube humans are training to fight and learning as much as they can twenty-four-seven without suffering from fatigue as much as we do." He summarized.

Cole nodded. "See, Mr. Baird? That's what you call common language." He joked.

"More like retards' language…" Baird muttered in response, attracting a chuckle from Tanner and John.

"Is there anything we should know?" Helen asked. "About these genetically created humans. How many are there? What do they need? When are they ready?"

"The ones in the pods you're looking at, these are only the hundredth batch, each batch has fifty million fetuses with a 100 percent success rate. The first to ninety fifth batches are ready for deployment now, with the ninety sixth to hundredth ready in five days. We will have another fifty batches ready by next month, and another fifty after that."

"That's almost 10 billion soldiers you're talking about, how can you feed all those mouths? How and where do you place them all?" Helen asked, shocked at the numbers she was hearing. "Last I checked, we weren't that developed into our agriculture and our territory didn't have a dozen Argathas."

"Fabricator technology has gone a long way and my company is the leading authority of that field of technology, we developed fabricators in these suits so that it can create food with nano alloys should rations run out, that good enough for your question?" Baird replied. "Nano-foods sound strange but they taste good, kids."

Helen shrugged in reply. "I honestly dunno about that sir, our rations are nano-foods." She said.

"And they taste like shit." Cole added.

"And they're all made by DB Industries." John noted. "No offense." He apologetically said as he noticed a less-than-happy reaction from Baird.

Baird glared at the three Commandos before answering Helen's next question. "And we place our completed troops in classified sites under orders of High Command."

"So… Anything else that you need before you leave this place?" Baird asked. "Because I am planning on giving you another gift before you decide to do so." He explained just as the door behind him opened, a few dozen men then walked into the chamber, they were in full Slayer Armor and they stood at attention when they stopped. It didn't take John to realize these men were much larger than him, and he could feel his guts yelling 'do not piss these guys off' into his head.

"Meet the cream of batch zero, the entire batch is full of prototypes and they're a lot tougher than all the later batches due to some more genetic enhancements that prove to us to be unfeasible for mass production. We made ten thousand of these tough bastards and they'll all be sent to serve directly under your command, Major Shepard."

"What?" John sad in confusion. "Two battalions under a Major is already a breach in the command structure and now I get to have twenty more battalions?" He asked as he turned to Cole. "Did you guys receive a promotion notice for me and didn't tell me?"

Cole shook his head in response. "I would've dumped it along with my girlfriend's emails without opening it anyway." He nonchalantly added.

"Ouch." Helen muttered as Tanner chuckled at that.

"Ahem, these orders came from Mendez himself, kid. No idea why, better ask him yourself." Baird replied as he turned to leave the place. "Alright, kids. I'm off to afternoon tea, be nice to each other and don't break my stuff!" The doors then slammed shut behind him.

John turned to Tanner. "Lowell, get these guys arranged and acquainted, I need to make a call to Mendez to sort this out." He ordered before turning to Sunset. "Sunset, stay here and don't move. I'll be back soon."

John then hurriedly walked to the farthest corner of the chamber and contacted Mendez on his comm link, his earpiece buzzed a while before it was connected.

"Mendez here."

"Mendez, what in the hell are you doing? Why did you give me twenty two battalions when my rank allows only one?" John asked.

"Wait a goddamn moment Shepard, what do you mean 'what I'm doing'?" There was then a moment of silence. "Oh right, I forgot to send the notice out." Mendez replied. "Sorry about any miscommunications but you're no longer a Major." He apologetically answered.

"What do you mean 'I am no longer a Major' ?" John demanded.

"As of yesterday, you've unofficially become Task Force Commander, you have control of Task Force 141, comprised of twenty two battalions of soldiers who will be trained in direct-action, counter terrorism and combined arms warfare." Mendez announced. "I'll make the announcement tonight."

John was stunned, to say the least. He received two promotions within two years, he had probably even broken the record of military promotions in the COG. "I… Don't think I should do this sir. After all, my portfolio is still thick with Mars and Titan."

"You can do nothing to change the past now, John. And you're the best we have in the department so it's time for you to take up a large role in our operations." Mendez affirmed. "Besides, your previous command cadre are a bunch of highly competent officers, reorganize your task force to effectively use your men." Mendez ordered.

"Yes sir." John replied before Mendez cut the transmission off. He could not believe the degree of autonomy he had just been given. "What the hell is happening right now?" He asked himself before turning back to the group.

* * *

Captain Bar'shak sat on his seat, the first thing he thought right after promoting to Captain was hunting for slaves in some distant, independent Asari colony in the Attican Traverse. Instead, he got assigned to patrol a nebula full of scrap metal made from a bygone age.

"So much for an adventurous life in the 'glorious' navy of the Batarian Hegemony." The freshly promoted and bored Captain muttered as he stood up. "Executive officer, I shall delegate my authority as captain of the ship to you while I am away, inform me when…"

"Sir!" A bridge officer yelled.

The Captain glared at the officer who cut his command off. "What is it Officer?"

"We have an anomaly on the edge of our scanners… It's huge." The Officer reported.

"How huge?" The Captain demanded in frustration.

"It's… Approximately the length of a Triumphant Class Dreadnought in service within the Turian Hierarchy but it's density mass is humongous… It's several times larger that of the Destiny Ascension…" The Officer trembled as he said those words.

Bar'shak lowered his head in contemplation, a Triumphant Class Dreadnought was two kilometers long but had a smaller-than usual mass density due to their thin armor and lightweight hull, and even then each ship of the class was millions of tonnes. The fact that an anomaly that's the size of a Turian dreadnought but heavier than even the Destiny Ascension was only detected now had him deeply concerned.

"An anomaly whose weight is magnitudes above their supposed size… It's abnormal even for an asteroid full of heavy metals..." Bar'shak muttered. "There's something not right with this unidentified object and we need to find it out."

"But our sensors were not designed to calculate mass…" The executive officer muttered. "There is no way that we could know if this is just a ghost signal we are tracing or if it was just some dead cargo ship with a sensor ping reaction."

"Only one way to find out." Bar'shak replied. "The sensor pings made by our sensors create signal strengths based on size and the sensor reaction from the surface of the object… The good officer here probably calculated the mass based on the little data he received." He explained as he walked up to the officer and padded his back. "Good job, officer." He commended.

He then turned to the executive officer. "I want a Priority Level Khar'shan request for reinforcements to High Command once we reach the anomaly, and tell them to prepare boarding parties too should a call is needed." Bar'shak then turned to the helm. "Helm, I want a course plotted to the anomaly immediately."

The ship then heated up it's engines as it sped towards the anomaly's location, not knowing what was in store for them.

* * *

**LOWELL TANNER'S AUDIO DIARY**

**LOG ENTRY 014**

Sunset Blossoms... The very reason the Major decided not to let us crash at his place days ago. I gotta admit she's a beautiful lady, but she's awfully silent and indifferent, so awful that it actually gave my spine chills. She may have the face of a human... But what I saw today is making me second-guess my judgement. And from what I heard, she defeated a House Guard in hand to hand combat with ease, it's awesome and terrifying.

It looks to me that Sunset is really loyal to John, she listens to him at all times. She can even defend herself like no other civilian can so I'm pretty sure she'll be safe from harm even if we deploy to the front without her. Though truth be told, I want her in the unit... Her capabilities as a soldier and bodyguard shouldn't be wasted but knowing John... I doubt he'll let her in for the sake of keeping her alive in the Hell that's the battlefield.

Anyways, I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking like that and I'm sure as hell someone like Mendez will convince him to bring her with us. For now, Cole, Helen and I have ten thousand new, emotionally indifferent artificial humans who are taller and stronger than Cole and Carmine to get acquainted with... So I guess I'll be going. Adios!

**LOG END**


	11. Absolution

**So I've heard of how bad the situation in the US is, my heart goes out to those suffering from the CCP virus. Best of luck from me!**

**And I've finally started a little combat centered on Shepard after a long while, it's mostly to help further develop his character but my friends, who had a preview of this chapter, said it was emotional. Idk if that's true but I'd suggest a tissue paper or two in case you're emotionally sensitive.**

**And lastly, hope this chapter can wipe off some of that boredom and despair in times like these. Please take some time to write me a review if you can spare it though since aside from sharing my imagination into a piece of text, I also wish to write a fine text. Thank you!**

**Now... Enjoy!**

* * *

It's midnight and John was reading the digital reports sent by various reports compiled by Helen, Cole and Tanner on his data tablet in his bedroom, they were a series of reports regarding the new equipment and the artificial humans in his group. It turned out that the artificial humans were not as indifferent as he thought, they exhibited the normal human emotions, albeit in a more disciplined manner. Since the introduction of these new soldiers, cases of discrimination against them went rampant but the Commander made absolutely sure that no such thing happened in his task force.

Just as he finished reading half of the report, his room's door banged. "John." It was Sunset. "Can I come in?" She asked.

He put down his tablet and stood up from his seat. "You may, Sunset." He permitted.

Sunset then opened the door and walked into the room, her other hand was holding a small book. "John, this is my daily writing log. As you ordered, I have written what I've experienced today." She reported as she handed the book to John.

John made a quick read and nodded in approval. "Well done, Sunset." He praised until he read the saw a drawing made by her on the final page of the day's diary log. It showed something like a warrior maiden in a heavily damaged high-tech armor mourning the deaths of a couple as she dug out their corpses out of the rubble in a desolate battlefield.

He showed the picture to Sunset. "How did you draw this?" He asked. "It is extraordinarily realistic." He remarked, the armor looked awfully familiar despite the battle damage on it.

Sunset seemed to had drifted in her memories as she hesitated to answer, and the Commander could notice her hesitate. "Sunset?" He prompt.

The call seemed to snap her back to reality as she looked towards John. "I… Do not know." She said. "I saw it in my dreams… I don't know what it is." She admitted.

'Dreams?' John thought, curious at her answer. He then closed the diary and gave it back to her. "It was well-written, Sunset. Now, I think you should go to bed now. It's very late and you have…" John was cut mid way as his phone rang on his desk, he then grabbed the phone and accepted the call.

"John Shepard here."

"This is doctor Stevens from Geneva, the one who was responsible for the diagnosis of Miss Blossoms when you called an ambulance for her to the hospital." A male voice in a European accent from the phone introduced.

"Oh it's you!" John exclaimed in a surprised tone. "So, why did you call me at a time like this?" He asked.

"It's about Miss Blossoms, I found something highly unusual about her biology. Too unusual to be talked about on phone or encrypted communications" He bluntly stated. "I would like to meet you over at Saint Peter's Basilica now, alone if you can." He requested.

John checked his watch. "Give me… Thirty minutes." He then cut the call and turned to Sunset. "Sunset, go to bed now. Remember, we have a trip to Norfolk tomorrow morning. Unless you want to stay here at home." He said.

Sunset didn't even hesitate to answer as she rushed out of John's bedroom and into her own, John chuckled at that moment and proceeded to grab his coat. He then arrived at the Basilica by bullet train and as he scanned his surroundings, he saw doctor Stevens.

He walked towards the Doctor. "Doctor Stevens, I hope what you're about to tell me about Sunset is worth call in the middle of a night." He greeted as the two shook hands.

Stevens then handed him a report. "When we took Miss Blossoms in, we took a blood sample from her. I scanned it and noticed anomalies in her bloodstream." He said. "Her blood cells seem to be enhanced… The oxygen intake per cell is five times a normal human's amount." He explained. "We also noticed a slightly longer longevity of her cells, which actually makes her biologically seven years younger than her actual age… That is after I had done the math, of course."

John grimaced. 'Seven years? She's the age of Sunset if my math is correct…' He thought in curiosity.

"In addition, our X-ray scans on her show extraordinarily strong bones, far stronger than that of a regular human... It's as if they were made of steel." The doctor continued as he handed an X-Ray scan to John.

John examined the X-Ray and frowned as memories of officers' briefings during the Jovian Wars flushed into his mind. "These bone structures… They're… No way. They... They're not possible…" He muttered in his increasingly trembling voice as he started remembering the faces of his dead comrades. The anguish he had continuously tried and failed to suppress broke free of his fragile emotional control once again as the thought of his dead comrades brought out the haunting memories of seeing their mutilated bodies and soulless eyes.

"Mr. Shepard?" Stevens called out. "Are you well?" He asked in a concerned tone as he noticed the Commander's hand quivering and his expression showing the face of a warrior in distress.

John then snapped back to the present as he steadied himself from the bombshell. "I'm… I'm fine, is there anything else?" He answered in a stressful manner as he folded the files he had into his coat. "Is there anything else you have to tell me?" He asked.

Stevens eyed at the Commander, skeptical at his nervous reply but decided to not dwell further as he nodded to his question. "Those are the only things I have to say, I should also notify you that I didn't report this to the higher-ups, it doesn't feel right."

"Alright… Thanks, Doc." John then hastily left the Basilica without saying his farewells. As he boarded the train, he took the X-Ray scan out of his coat and took a look at it again. "Is she... " John tried to utter the remaining words of his question but he failed to as tears started streaming down his cheek. He then put the scan results back and took a photo of his old comrades out. "What should I do, goddammit?" He asked himself.

The next day, he and Sunset set out to Norfolk. As the two stepped out of the taxi, John turned to Sunset. He looked at her in a suspicious manner but refrained from acting further. "No matter what the person behind that door does after she sees me, do not retaliate." He behest before ringing the door bell.

Moments later, a woman opened the door and John made a friendly nod. "Hey Jane, it's been…" His greetings were cut short as the woman slapped him in the face without hesitation, and then made an upper punch to his jaw. Sunset then prepared for a retaliatory attack as the Commander staggered backwards, she was stopped by him with a gesture. "That hurt alright, but I guess I deserved much of that…" John groaned as he rubbed his jaw in pain.

"You deserve much more than that, John." Jane replied venomously as she turned to Sunset. "Who is this?" She asked.

"She's Sunset, a civilian friend." John quickly answered.

Jane stared at his 'civilian friend' with laser-focused eyes before opening the door wide and stepping inside. "Come in." She said. John then led Sunset into the house as Jane closed the door behind them.

John surveyed his surroundings, it was still the same as it was more than three decades ago. "So… Still haven't switched the furniture?" He asked as he inspected the closest drawer, where he saw a photo of a Commando of his unit. "And you still keep his photos of his time with the Infantry?" He asked as he stared at one of the photos, the one with John himself on it, specifically.

"They're the only memories I have left of Edward…" Jane replied in a cold tone. "Until a few days ago." She added as she took a recording pen out of her left jacket pocket, the same recording pen that John had buried all those years ago. She activated it with the push of a button and the pen started playing the recordings, and flashbacks of what happened started flooding John's mind.

* * *

Thirty Five Years Ago... Two Weeks before the Jovian Massacre

_"Hey, John… We should get those files back to Command, they could prove vital to the crackdown effort…" Edward pleaded. "You know how long we've been trying to find evidence for Command to take down this insurgency! The evidence is right there!"_

_"We can't, Ed. ISR shows insurgents crawling up on our asses outside the complex as we speak, we do not have the time to risk this endeavour, it's just not worth the risk of getting ourselves killed." John retorted just as an explosion occurred behind him, insurgents carrying stolen Lancers and different rifles then rushed into the room and began shooting the place up._

_John and Edward managed to dodge the initial hail of gunfire and took cover along with three other Gears while two of his men were not so lucky. John unholstered his Lancer and opened fire, he fired a burst that killed an insurgent before returning to cover. "We're sitting ducks over here." The Gear next to him said as a round coming for him was deflected by his shoulder plate._

_"I agree, Omega-Five." John responded in agreement as he tapped into the comms. "All Mission elements, this is Omega-One, execute Lynx Protocol and regroup at Primary exfil point." He ordered before turning to Edward as he fired a shot at the insurgents. "Come on Edward, we're leaving this dirt hole!" John ordered.  
_

_Edward took cover behind a mining vehicle as he heard the order. "What? There's no way in hell am I going to leave this gold mine behind!" He then rushed out of cover and went for one of the ladders on the left flank. He began climbing down just as the insurgents intensified their fire on the Gears' position._

_John saw his friend's recklessness getting the better of him and tried to pursue him, only to be pinned down by enemy fire. "Edward Donald Addington, get your ass back here!" John demanded as he made a quick peek out of cover and dropped another insurgent with a burst to the chest. He turned to the Gear next to him as the insurgent's body fell limp to the ground. "Omega-Five, do you have a frag?" He asked._

_Omega-Five nodded, then grabbed a frag grenade from his belt and pulled the pin. "Throwing frag!" He yelled in notification as he threw it out. Enemy fire then stopped for a split second before the detonation by the grenade blew the Insurgents from the breaching point to smithereens. John then surveyed his surroundings as he stood up from his cover, he realized Edward was nowhere to be found. "Omega-Two, come in. Omega-Two, sitrep, over." He demanded._

_Hearing no reply, he raised Edward again. "Omega-Two, sitrep over…" He raised again, there was no reply. He tried one last time and was met with the same results. He then sighed in annoyance and frustration as he turned to Omega-Five. "Get to the primary exfil, I'll go find Edward." He ordered as he slammed a fresh magazine into his rifle._

_The Gear nodded and began working by carrying one of the dead Gears while what was left of the team prepared to move out with the other dead Gear. John then tapped into his comms. "Phoenix Base, this is Omega-One, we have two fallen eagles and require a CASEVAC over at primary exfil point. Be notified, Omega-Two is currently out of the grid. I will conduct a solo search and rescue for him the moment this transmission ends, requesting QRF over at Secondary exfil, over."_

_"Omega-One, this is Phoenix Base. Say again your last, we have two fallen eagles and we have one Omega element MIA?" Came a shocked and upset reply from the Command Center._

_The Captain was hesitant to repeat the downhearted report but he did it nonetheless. "Confirmed, Phoenix. We lost Privates Ford and Glen." He solemnly stated in confirmation. "And Edwards has gone missing when we got jumped by the insurgents, I can't raise him on the comms." He added._

_There was a moment of silence on Phoenix Base's end as people over there digested the news with a tinge of sadness and regret that can be felt by the Captain even when they were miles away from one another. Phoenix then spoke again. "Omega-One, this is Phoenix Base, copy that. Be advised, QRF will be on secondary exfil in twenty mikes and they will make a lot of noise when they get there so I suggest that you find Omega-Two pronto. Over and out."_

_John then disconnected and climbed the ladder Edward took earlier. As he climbed down the ladder, he saw three different tunnels. He noticed footprints leading to one of them as he looked down onto the sandy dirt, they were military-issued boots of Edward's size. John then raised his weapon and followed the trail deep into the tunnel, he soon saw a lot of dead insurgents, their bodies torn apart by Lancer fire. As he moved on, he found himself standing at one of the insurgents' choke points of the tunnel, there was a lone dead insurgent, John examined his body with a quick glance and noticed that he was killed with a Lancer's bayonet and had his rifle ripped from his hand._

_He then turned right and saw Edward's customized Lancer, it's magazine, who's caliber was smaller than others due to the Gear's role as a machine gunner, was spent to the last round and it's bayonet bloodied from a deep stab. "Shit." John muttered in frustration, he could tell that Edward was running low on ammunition and he would not make it out alive if he kept going on like this. He then quickly moved on and found more dead insurgents before reaching what appeared to be a dead end._

_As John stepped into the room, he felt a barrel pointing at his head from the right. He instantly ducked his head down and pushed the barrel aside as he tried to land a punch with his other arm on the target's face. He stopped right before the punch hit his intended destination as he realized that the man who pointed the gun was in fact, Edward. "Jeez, Ed. I thought I told you to never scare me like that." He scolded._

_"Didn't know it was you." Edward nonchalantly replied as he put his looted rifle down, it was an old AK-12 model. He then pulled out a few files out of his left pouch. He unfolded them and let John have a good look at them. "They're legit, John. These bastards are going down for good." He said with a grin._

_"That is if…" As John turned around, he saw an insurgent with a suicide vest charging them from behind. "Avalanche!" He yelled as he fired a burst on the insurgent's head. The rounds reached their intended target but was too late was the bomber pushed the detonation button. Fragmentation shards then darted all over the room as John pushed Edward and himself down for cover._

_When the kinetic shock of the explosion passed and the dust started settling down, he stood up and pulled Edward up. "You good?" He asked while panting a bit._

_"Yeah… Yeah I'm good." Edward replied after a slight pause as he began folding the files and putting them into his pouch._

_John then secured the area with his only sensor grenade as he could not see through the dust levitating all around him. The area was found to be clear as the scan results got fed into his HUD. "Come on, Edward. Our window out of this place is eight mikes out." He said as he checked the time._

_"Right… Coming." Edward then began walking with John. The Captain noticed that Edward was lagging behind from what appeared to be a concussion but brushed the thought aside as he took point in the tunnel. They soon reached the complex's outer perimeter without resistance._

_"Phoenix, this is Omega-One, we're one mike from the secondary exfil point. Requesting ETA on QRF, over." John requested as he connected to the comms. While they were waiting for a reply by slowly walking towards the rendezvous point, insurgents suddenly appeared from the complex and fired upon the two unsuspecting Gears. The initial volley missed them and adrenaline soon flushed the bodies of the two exhausted Gears as they ran for cover.  
_

_"Omega, this is Phoenix. QRF and exfil craft is three mikes out." Came the reply as they ran._

_"Tell them to double time it! Hostiles are converging on our position!" John said through panting breaths before cutting the transmission as they ran towards the treeline in front of the exfiltration point. He then began returning fire on the enemy while Edward did the same._

_"We hold them here!" John said as he killed another five insurgents with shots to their heads, he then took cover behind a tree as the insurgents opened fire on his position, he watched in shock as the shots chipped the tree into pieces. He then dashed to the rock next to the tree while Edward provided cover fire._

_"I'm on my last mag!" Edward noted as he ducked behind cover. He switched his rifle to single-fire mode and began dropping targets like flies with pinpoint accuracy as his HUD's targeting computer enhanced his target acquisition._

_"So am I…" John yelled in response just as he heard the easily recognizable engine sounds of a transport craft roaring overhead. He looked up towards the sky and saw an Osprey unleash it's gruesome armament of multi-barrelled machine guns and explosive missiles on the insurgents. The insurgents then began a slow retreat as the firepower brought to the playing field was too much to handle._

_Another Osprey then landed a few dozen meters from behind them and the two battered Gears sprinted towards the Osprey. The three Gears in the Osprey brought the two aboard as they slid open one side of the craft's blast doors. The Osprey then took off just as fast as it landed the moment the Gears settled down._

_As the transport craft left the scene, John chuckled at the madness they had just been through. "Another day in the field huh, Omega-Two?" He asked as he leaned on the side of the hull of the Osprey but there was no response from his friend. "Ed?" He called out to his friend again. He then heard something liquid splashing around his boots as he shifted his foot a little. "What the…" He muttered as he took a look, it was in dark red and there was then a scent scattering in the craft, it took him no more than an instant to realize what it was. "Who's blood is this?" He demanded as the Gears were brought to attention of the situation._

_They then began looking for the source of the blood. "Captain…" The only female Gear in the Osprey called out as she dishearteningly pointed at an unconscious Edward, who was sitting on one of the seats of the craft, unresponsive to anyone and his command from before. John looked down and saw blood leaking from his armor and streaming down the seat. "Ed!" He instantly unstrapped his belt and rushed to his comrade's side._

_"Have him lie on the ground, now!" He yelled as he and one of the Gears helped move Edward to the deck. They then tore his armor's plates apart and ripped off his uniform to take a good look at the wounds. "Someone get this man a medkit!" John shouted to the top of his lungs in utter desperation as he checked on Edward's wounds. He could see pieces of shrapnel all over his right torso. He then noticed Edward then regain consciousness, albeit barely as a Gear gave him a syringe of morphine._

_He slowly glanced at John, his bloodied left hand gripping the Captain's right forearm tightly. "Hey, buddy. Sorry for not telling you about it." He muttered with great affliction after he made a chuckle, with blood pouring out of his mouth. He spat them out as soon he could taste the iron-like red liquid drooling in his tongue._

_"Dammit, Edward. Why… Why didn't you tell me that the vest got you?" John asked in a sorrowful tone as he worked to apply pressure to the biggest wound Edward has on his torso. He turned to one of the Gears. "I wanted that medkit here yesterday, Goddamnit!" He clamored before looking back at Edward._

_The wounded Gear looked at his commanding officer in regret as tears streamed from his eyes. "Because you would put my life over the intel… I never meant to..." He tried to pull himself to be next towards John's ear. The Captain saw what he was doing and had himself leaned towards his friend's side. "I only wanted to do my duty…" Edward answered in an increasingly weak voice before starting to lose consciousness again. One of the Gears then finally brought the medkit up to his side and began administering aid but Edward was still not improving._

_John then saw his best friend's life starting to slip away and pulled him by his uniform collar with his bloodied gloves. "No, Edward. Stay with me, Ed. Ed!" He pleaded to his friend in vain. He then noticed Edward's left hand slowly reaching for his leg pouch and the Captain immediately proceeded to loosen the pouch button for him._

_The dying soldier nodded his thanks in a light-headed fashion as he handed John the files and and a ring, his wedding ring. "Tell Jane… I'm sorry…" John watched as his best friend's last words left his lips and his body going limp._

_"Ed? No, Ed, don't go! Stay with me, Ed… Stay with me!" John murmured in a tone of misery, refusing to accept what was happening but as he stared at his best friend's lifeless corpse, he knew it was not something of his imagination. Even then, he decided to try one more time. "Don't go buddy…" He futilely pleaded once more before finally conceding to the despairing reality before him as Edward remained unresponsive. "No… No, no…" He then laid him to rest on the Osprey's blood-stained deck, mourning the loss of his friend while the other Gears moved to cover his body with a flag of the COG._

_John then had a glimpse at Edward's armor's left bracelet, and pulled a recording pen out of the small pouch attached to it. He stared at the pen before lowering his head in anguish. "She mustn't know… She mustn't know..." He repeatedly muttered to himself as he held it tight in his hand._

* * *

"Why did you lie?" Jane asked as she held Edward's wedding ring in hand, her tone low and sorrowful. John didn't answer the question as he lowered his head. "Why didn't you tell me that it wasn't your fault?" She asked again, this time asking in tears as she pulled herself up from her seat and pulled him by the collar, he did not resist as she gripped his collar tightly. "Why?!" She yelled in demand.

Sunset darted up from the couch and prepared to free John but the Captain gestured her to hold as he looked up at Jane. "Because it didn't matter in the end." He simply answered, his tone flat and emotionless. Jane kept tightly holding onto John for a short moment before finally relenting. As she let go of John, the Captain slumped back to his seat like a slag of meat. "I didn't tell you… Because I failed to protect him in the end…" He confessed. "My job was to protect my men, Edward died because I failed at my job." He said. "The only way I could think of repenting… Was to take the blame for everything."

He glanced at Jane. "I don't want my best friend to know that his husband, who is also my brother-in-arms, died because of his recklessness!" He half-shouted as he spoke each word with a tinge of anguish and regret. "He was a great man, Jane… The greatest I've ever known. I don't want his death to ruin that image you have of him."

Jane glared at John as she digested his confession, then started breaking down, wailing. "You didn't have to do that, stupid." She uttered as she wiped the endless stream of tears from her face. "You didn't have to do that…"

As the atmosphere of the room became more and more sorrow by the second, the unexpected happened. "Mrs. Addington, if I may…" Sunset said. Jane turned to the girl, surprised at her first time speaking. "There are memories that time does not erase... Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable." She stated, quoting from Cassandra Clare's City of Heavenly Fire. "By taking the blame, John hopes to dull your pain. This unseen sacrifice is… Selfless." She explained "I implore that you forgive John." She pleaded in her flat voice and in the simplest way possible as she bowed.

Jane stared at Sunset, processed her words before finally looked at John, who said nothing as he refused to make eye contact with her. "John…" She rushed to embrace her long time friend. "I forgive you." She vocalized. "How he died isn't important, what I think of him won't change for as long as I can remember him because I love him!" She squealed at the stunned John, who began streaming tears as she started crying. "So please… Forgive yourself!"

He then steadied himself as he made a sad but at the same time, happy smile. "I… Understand." He finally answered as he accepted Jane's embrace. "I will forgive myself." He affirmed. "I will forgive myself!" He repeated in tears as he tightened his embrace with Jane.

* * *

"Entry point of derelict located, entering." The lead Batarian special forces operator reported. Bar'shak watched the operator's helmet camera from his bridge with great interest as the operator led his team deeper into derelict. He then stared at the anomaly once more through the bridge's observation deck, it was a ship and it looked like a Hanar to him for some reason. The drifting object's mechanical tentacles looking like a hanar's equivalent while it's main body looked like a curved but at the same time, sharp arrow pointing upwards. It was very large, and much heavier than the Destiny Ascension.

"Bridge, this is survey team. Scans have located what appears to be the source of the signal." The Operator reported. "Interrogative; are there any abnormalities since entry?" He then asked. Bar'shak looked to his executive officer, who shook his head in response.

The Captain then connected to the comms. "Survey team, this is Bridge. No abnormalities detected."

There was then a silent moment as the operators in the survey team waited for the reply from the ship. "Copy that, bridge. Survey team is now requesting permission to investigate source signal." Came the eventual request.

Bar'shak moved to respond "Bridge to Survey team, that is a negative. You are to wait for reinforcements before…" There was suddenly a large scream from one of the operators, his body then convulsed uncontrollably as his screams of agony became more and more maddening. His teammates attempted to subdue him but they were of no use as his spasm continued. Then, all of a sudden, he completely stopped moving.

"Baelk-Three?" An operator called out as he slowly approached the still but unstable operator. "Are you…" He didn't get to finish his question as Baelk-Three suddenly raised his head in an unusual manner and stared at the operator. His eyes were not the usual dark yellow but an illuminating purple. He then held the operator by his neck and broke it in an instant with unimaginable strength.

Bar'shak then watched in horror as the lone rogue soldier mowed down half a dozen of the survey team's escorts in a hail of gunfire with one hand while holding the limp operator from before in his other hand. The lead operator took cover along with what was left of his team behind some of the purplish obstacles of the ship while an operator tried to rush Baelk-Three. Baelk-Three then dropped his rifle and mercilessly ripped the rushing Batarian soldier apart with his bare hands, which had grown sharp claws. The sight of one of his kind being hacked to pieces by such a monstrosity terrified the turned to his executive officer. "Get more men down there now!" He shouted.

The executive officer nodded and began making the calls needed.

* * *

_JANE GOTTWALD ADDINGTON'S AUDIO DIARY_

_LOG ENTRY 11145_

_I feel pathetic._

_I wrongfully blamed my best friend for Edward's death for more than thirty years… And he took it all for me. I cannot even fathom the pain he had to go through… To bury the truth from his best friend to keep her safe. Even though this is by no means a happy day, I feel… Fresh. The pain is still in my heart, greater than ever but for the first time since Edward died, I feel myself brimming with the desire to live through the days. Was it because of John's confession… Or was it because of that girl's words?_

_John lived his life in the most selfless manner I could have ever imagined, and he tried to protect me from the truth, and used himself as my heat vent. I can never thank him enough for that._

_Speaking of that girl Sunset, she's… Interesting to say the least. At first glance, she looks like an angel, yet she seemed devoid of even basic human characteristics. I can see no compassion in her… Spiritless, she feels like a robot. However, what she said today… Her words to me… She reminded me that I must live a colorful life… One that Edward would've wanted me to enjoy. I will never forget her regardless of her relationship with John…_

_LOG ENTRY ENDED_


	12. A Sudden Storm

**Well, I owe you all an apology for this ultra-late update this time. Turns out school became hell for a lazy ass like me since it didn't bother to cancel the exams but hey, at least I was good enough to get promoted without studying lol.**

**Alright, enough bragging on my end.**

**And I'll be really honest. I feel absolutely shit when writing this chapter so this chapter might be shittier than literal shit. Lemme know if you agree.**

**Now, (don't) enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The door to Mendez's office was knocked, garnering the head of Special Operations' attention. "Come in." He permitted with a callout. The door then slid opened and John walked into the office. "Ah Commander Shepard!" He greeted as the two saluted each other. "Please, take a seat." He offered as he sat back down. "So, are you here for more details on the mission?" He asked.

"No sir. In fact, I came asking for your opinion on a personal matter that caused me a dilemma." John answered.

"Ah, I see." Mendez responded as he made a stare at the Commander. "Is it about that civilian accomplice of yours? The one who had effortlessly beaten a House Guard a few days back?" Before John could respond, Mendez raised his hand to stop him. "Word spreads fast, especially around here, Commander." He said.

John scoffed at him before putting the files Doctor Stevens gave him two nights before onto the Chief's desk. "You'll want to read this before hearing me out." He said as Mendez picked and read the files.

As the older man read the files, his frown deepened. After reading every last bit of the report, he closed the file and glanced at John. "So… This Sunset Blossoms is a Valkyrie." He nonchalantly concluded. "The bone and blood cell structures are all too recognizable." He added.

The Chief then yawned and shifted his seat a little. "Never thought I'd see these damn pictures again." He said.

John looked at Mendez, puzzled at his casual response and expression. "You seem too relaxed considering the fact that I've just basically told you that I'm harboring an enemy of the state." He noted. "Why?" He asked.

"Former enemy of the state." Mendez corrected as he returned the files back to John, who graciously took and held them in his hand. "Truth be told, I would had freaked the hell out if you gave this to me thirty years ago." The head of the department admitted. "But the war has already ended for more than thirty five years. There's no point in holding grudges after such a long time, right?" He said. "Besides, from what I've heard in these few days, she's completely harmless unless being turned into one. Also, considering the fact that she seems to be extremely loyal to you and you alone, I'd say she's no threat at all." He added. "Still, I haven't heard your question."

John inhaled slowly before starting to speak his concerns. "That's exactly what I'm afraid about, Chief." He said. "We're about to fight in a war, one that could be larger than our last one, and it's one that I'm very scared we won't come back from." He explained.

"Let me guess, you think she'll join because of you?" Mendez assumed, which was confirmed by a hesitant nod from the Commander. Mendez chuckled at that. "Well, let her join!" Mendez responded. "Humans are a fickle thing, we always do something for a reason that many others cannot fathom. To you or even me, we might not understand her rationale but the only thing that matters is how she feels about it." He explained. "Does that satisfy your problems, Commander?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, now get your unit ready. The 1st Combined Fleet, which is under Admiral Hackett and armed with the newest ships of the fleet, is awaiting for your group's arrival."

John saluted. "Sir, yes sir!"

The Commander then left the room and Mendez started pondering on Sunset's true identity. "Will she be human, or will she become the weapon she was turned into all those years ago." He wondered as he poured a glass of brandy.

* * *

As John left Mendez's room, he pondered on Mendez's words. "Should I really let her join?" He asked himself as he walked towards his unit's briefing room. He soon reached the designated room and he pushed a few buttons on the door panel. The doors slid opened and everyone in the room saluted their commanding officer. John returned the salute. "At ease, soldiers." He said as he walked into the room.

The Gears inside then returned to working while Helen approached the Commander. "Sir, we've just received word from the docks that the Normandy is ready for launch the moment we move our men into the ship." She reported. "And Fleet Admiral Hackett is on the line, he says its urgent."

"Urgent, huh?" John repeated as he wondered what that meant. "Relay it to my office. Also, I want the entire task force inside the Normandy within 24 hours. I want Cole and Tanner to oversee our land-based arsenal's placement into the ship and I want it done in 18 hours." He ordered.

"Roger that." The Lieutenant Commander and 141's Operation's Officer nodded and began working as John walked towards his office.

He closed and locked the door behind him as he entered his office and pushed a few buttons in the holoprojector. The image of Admiral Hackett then materialized in front of the Commander. "Admiral." John greeted.

"Commander." The Admiral returned. "Sorry for interrupting you at a moment like this." He apologized.

"Nah, don't bother sir." John dismissed. "Anyways, what's so urgent that you have me contacted at a time like this?" He asked.

He then noticed Hackett looking around him, as if he was wary of something close. "Is the channel secure?" He asked.

John pushed a few buttons in the holoprojector panel, encrypting the channel while activating sound dampeners all over the room to prevent eavesdropping. "It is now, Admiral." He responded after a few seconds.

Hackett then looked at John, his expression heavy. "Commander, maybe it's my old age but I believe that there will be a coup d'etat within our ranks against the current administration in the capitol soon." He said.

John snapped at that. "A military coup?! That's some massive accusation, sir." He responded, shocked at the Admiral's words. "Is there a basis for it?" He immediately followed up.

"Have you noticed the armed forces' ideological trend lately?" Hackett asked.

John shook his heads in response.

The Admiral sighed. "Much of the armed forces have become… nationalistic and patriotic to a fault recently, especially after what happened on Heavengate." He said as if he was disappointed at the trend.

"I don't see a problem about it." John replied, puzzled at Hackett's worries.

"Commander, nationalism and patriotism are not inherently dangerous but when put on extreme levels, they will become a double-edged sword so sharp that it can pierce our hearts with a single thrust." Hackett warily explained. "The fervour they create powerful gives people great motivation to fight, but it also represents an easy way to lose who our core values and by extension, who we really are."

"But we're fighting for the nation, aren't we?" The commander asked. "Aren't we, as soldiers, supposed to prioritize it's physical wellbeing over all other things?"

"And what defines a nation's physical wellbeing, Shepard?" Hackett retorted. "The flag flying high in the sky with all its glory? Or the triumph of our soldiers marching in parade formation?" He asked and John could not come up with a reply.

Hackett continued. "The thing, John, is that our nation is a mere body to our ideals, our democracy and our freedom. Nationalism and patriotism may be protectors of the body, but they are also the killers of its soul. This has proven time and time again, from the Germans to the Communist era of China." He said.

John sighed as he sat back in defeat. "I get where you're coming from, but the fact that a coup could happen because of ideological deviancy is still far fetched to me." He responded. "Let's hope your worries are just pure paranoia, Admiral." He wished. "I'll privately report this to Chief Mendez too, if you don't mind."

Hackett nodded in approval and then deactivated his end of the holoprojection, leaving John alone in the room wondering the potential consequences of another civil war. He then snapped himself back into reality and left the room, deciding to go back home but not before sending a message about the meeting to Mendez. As he walked out of the room, he noticed Stroud talking to someone he was not familiar with. He approached them and was surprised at who he saw.

"Fleet Admiral Stroud!" He immediately greeted as he made a salute.

The Admiral turned to John and returned the salute. "At ease, Commander." He said as he glanced at his daughter. "I see that you've taken great care of my daughter, Commander. Thank you for doing so." He said.

"Don't be sir, it's every officer's duty to bring his or her subordinates back home safe." John replied. "I'm glad that she was one of the ones that I could bring home."

"Hmm, true. Oh by the way, Commander. Can I have a word with you now?" The Admiral asked.

"Yes sure, come on in, sir." John replied as she looked to Helen. "You too, Lieutenant Commander." He gestured for Helen to join.

Helen nodded and joined her superior officer and father to the Commander's office. They then settled down while John grabbed three glasses of water. "Sorry for the lack of consumables, I'm not used to visitors since I'm usually the one who does the visiting." John apologetically said.

"It's no problem, Commander." Admiral Stroud politely said. "And you can call me by my first name."

"Alright then, Edwards. What do you want to talk about?" John said as he gave his two guests their glass of water.

Edwards took a sip from his glass and sighed. "Just want to lament on the past. These days often remind me of the old, when we were burning our own cities." He said.

"Can't help but agree, Edwards." John agreed as he glanced at the photos of his old comrades, which were fixed at a board to his left. "It took many things from us." He sadly pointed out.

"And they're all because of a government who can't serve the people's needs but their own." Edwards grumbled in a disgruntled tone. "Their corruption will erode the foundations we stand upon, Commander, don't you agree?"

John sighed. "I cannot say if our current government is corrupt or not since it's not a soldier's duty to question the government unless it violates the Constitution. However, the nation's current state of affairs is admittedly... Less than satisfactory."

"If only we can change this damn joke of a system..." Edwards said as he gulped his glass of water in frustration. "I'd rather die a million times than see this damn system running."

"We can change all of this, Admiral. We just need time." John reassured. "Every system would eventually need change, it's just that now is not the time."

"I sincerely pray that you're right, John." Edwards then glanced at Helen before looking back at John. "I'll be taking my leave now, I still have a pile of documents to clear out on my desk." He stood up and turned to the doors before stopping again. "Oh and John, are you married?" The Admiral inquisitively asked.

John pondered on the question as he failed to notice Helen lowering her head and blushing at the question. "No, sir. I am not." He honestly replied.

"Hmm, very well." Edwards said. "I hope our government is better than its current state the next time we meet." He bid and then left the room.

John then turned to Helen. "You have a good father, Helen. Be proud of it." He affirmed. "Oh and by the way, did you complete the things I've tasked you?" He asked.

Reality then snapped back to Helen as she realized she had work to do. She stood at attention and saluted. "I'll... I'll head back to work, sir!" She then hastily rushed out of the room and John was alone, all again. He sighed and moved to clean the glasses as he kept on pondering the Admiral's question.

* * *

Commander Smith stood on COG High Command's highly secured landing platforms, awaiting the arrival of someone important with Admiral Michaelson. An Osprey then landed, and in it came Admiral Greensville of the Olympus Fleet.

An honor guard of twenty Gears saluted as the Admiral walked in between them to approach Michaelson. Greensville then saluted. "Admiral Michaelson." He greeted.

"Greensville." Michaelson returned as he and Smith returned a smart salute. "This way, please." Three Gears under Smith then escorted the two Admirals to Michaelson's office and as Smith was about to enter the doors, Michaelson stopped him.

"Guard the entrance." He ordered and then immediately entered the room.

Once the door closed, Michaelson turned towards Greenville. "So William, what brings you here all of a sudden?" He asked. "Come to meet me off before my deployment to the Frontier?"

"You could say that." Greensville replied as he took a seat. "But I'd rather say that I'm here to ask you a question or two before you leave for the next two years." He corrected.

"I see." Michaelson whispered as he took a seat as well. "Well, you'd better ask now, old friend."

"What makes a nation?" He asked.

Michaelson, feeling odd at such a question, hesitated before responding. "It's core values." He answered. "Without it, any political entity is only a shell."

"Then what would happen if this entity becomes corrupt?" Greensville pressed on.

Michaelson looked at him, pondering on his friend's intent. "The entity starts a slow death, and it's shell dissolves." He answered plainly. "Why are you asking this kind of question?" He then asked back.

"Too many young people are dying for our government's war, Michaelson..." Greensville replied. "Don't you think that should be put to an end?"

"I agree, the fact that old punks like me are still alive while young ones with bright futures ahead of them keep dying for our endless conflicts is proof that something is wrong with this system." Michaelson agreed.

"Maybe we can fix that."

"What do you mean?" Michaelson asked in a puzzled expression.

It was then Greensville suddenly stood up, staring at the wall to his right. "History, in general shows us what a bad government is…" He said, quoting Thomas Jefferson from a few centuries ago. "And the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." He looked at Michaelson with a merciless but at the same time, remorseful eye. "Do you understand my intention now, Michaelson?" He asked in a sad tone.

It was then Michaelson fully understood what Greensville meant. He quickly went for his sidearm, with the only hindrance in doing so being the unfathomable thought of his friend's treasonous intent. By the time he pulled his pistol, he heard a sharp ring and felt something hot melting through his stomach. He dropped his pistol and held on to the wound as he fell to the floor, powerless.

"What… Have you done…" He weakly asked in disdain, with blood in his mouth, his uniform and office floor carpet started to get soaked with his very own blood. He then noticed the door behind Greensville opening and managed to see a shocked Commander Smith.

"What the…" He could hear Smith's disbelief and see him draw his weapon moments before someone shot him in the head from behind, a guard of Greenville's, instantly killing the Commander while more sounds of gunfire could be heard as his body fell lifelessly like a puppet's strings cut in the middle of a play.

Michaelson then shifted his head towards Greensville, who was pointing his own sidearm at him.

"I'm only doing what needs to be done… Old friend." He replied as he unlocked the weapon's safety mechanisms. "For all of our sakes… Forgive me." He apathetically apologized as he pulled the trigger at point blank range.

As Greensville holstered his pistol, a Gear approached him. "Sir?"

"Broadcast the code word in every channel available to us." He ordered. "Today, we save this nation from sending more people to die."

"Yes sir." The Gear then left the room as Greensville stared at his former friend's corpse.

* * *

"Ugh, I hate this job." Cole groaned in annoyance while stretching his back, he made a cracking sound as he did so.

"Just shut up so we can finish this shit quickly and go to the bar." Tanner scolded as he put down a crate.

They were working with a few dozen 141 Operators on the docks, completing the inventory task given by Helen. Just as he was making his final check on the inventory list on a datapad, a broadcast began.

"Play ball." It just broadcasted. After that, the speakers overloaded and went dead.

Tanner glanced at Cole. "Play ball? What's that supposed to mean?" He asked in curiosity and confusion.

"Sir!" A Gear yelled as he rushed towards the 141 Operators. "The battlebots… They're…" The Gear didn't finish his statement as an antimatter beam shot through his heart, instantly killing him.

"Take cover!" Cole yelled as everyone rushed to take cover in the crates. Tanner rushed to the crate next to him and crouched. He drew his pistol and began to assess the situation. He could see a line of battlebots marching towards them like an indomitable phalanx with Gears with green badges behind them.

"Gears, what are you doing?! Blue on blue! Blue on blue!" He cried out in desperation as antimatter fire pinned his group down.

One of the 141 Operators began to take aim but Tanner talked him down. "Don't! There's gotta be a misunderstanding!" He said before he received a communications request from Helen.

He accepted it and was stunned to see her bloodied and tired. "Helen, what the hell is going on?! I got entire lines of battlebots and Gears attacking us!" He frantically asked just as an antimatter blast flew above his head.

"I have no idea but we have just been hit by a group of bots and Gears too while I was greeting our Quarian recruits! The entire compound is compromised and we're currently fighting our way towards Chief Mendez and the Commander's house!" Helen replied amid background noises of explosion.

"What? Why John's house?" Tanner asked as he ducked down from a hail of fire.

"He went home around an hour before this happened, said he had something to deal with!" She immediately replied.

"Copy that, so what do you need me to do now?" Tanner asked.

"Get to the closest comms tower and figure out what the hell is exactly going on!" Helen ordered. "Comms not belonging to 141 have all been jammed here. We're practically in the dark so give us some light."

"And what about the Gears attacking us?"

Helen's reply was immediate but Tanner could feel the pain and reluctance in her words. "Standard ROE against hostile combatants." She ordered.

Tanner didn't respond to her order as he slammed his fist into the power core of an approaching battlebot, disabling it instantly. "Copy that." He then answered.

They then disconnected and the crate protecting Tanner exploded, sending the Lieutenant Commander flying meters away. He soon crashed to one of the boxy metal containers and was slightly stunned by the impact.

"Commander!" An Operator yelled as two bots marched for him.

Tanner recovered from the impact with some effort and activated his shield module just in time to tank an antimatter blast as a volley of battlebot fire darted towards him. A layer of nanomaterial from the shield disintegrated but was quick to regenerate, making the damage negligible. He then took out his Lancer and returned fire as he made a fighting withdrawal back to cover.

"Tanner!" Cole yelled from his end. "What's our ROE?"

"They shoot us, we kill them!" Tanner replied as he retreated behind the metal container. "We need to get to a comms tower!" He then turned towards an Operator. "Find us the closest one!"

"Yes sir." The Operator then accessed a nearby control panel and began working on his mission while Tanner began firing his pistol. The energy bolts departed from the pistol and pierced the armor of the battlebots with ease while disintegrating chunks of their frames.

Tanner then returned to cover as Cole got into hand-to-hand combat with one of the battlebots. He activated his armor's nanoblade and slashed at the battlebot's right arm as it attempted to punch him. He then kicked the bot's central frame, pushing it backwards and he proceeded to thrust his blade deep into its core, deactivating it instantly.

Just as Cole destroyed the bot, Tanner closed into the ranks of the battlebot phalanx and began a killing spree with his nanoblade and pistol. He slashed his blade and pulled his trigger until the bots were all destroyed. He then turned towards the mutinous Gears charging towards him and he fired his pistol in rapid succession.

The rest of his unit joined and the volley of fire killed all but one of the green-badged Gears. Tanner approached the fatally wounded soldier and had his helmet retracted. Beneath the emotionless metal face was a young man, he was coughing blood, a lot of blood.

"Get this man a medkit." Tanner ordered as he applied pressure to his wound on the chest.

"Why…" The Gear asked. "We… Betrayed you…"

"You're still alive, that's why." Cole replied with a little disdain in his tone. "Who ordered you all to attack us?"

The Gear coughed out some blood as he tried to answer. "The Salvation Council…" His head the slumped downwards as he spoke with his last breath. Tanner then scanned for any signs of life and found none.

"The Salvation Council, I think I heard of it." An Operator muttered.

Tanner then turned towards the Operator, and stood up. "Spit it out." He ordered.

"A few days ago, when I was in the bar, I overheard someone talking about some national salvation, I heard the name from there." He explained. "I never thought it would be something like this."

"So, I guess we're fighting against a coup then." Cole said.

"Yeah, and right now, we need to contact anyone still loyal to the COG, to organize an effective fighting force." Tanner said as he walked towards the Operator working on an address. "Where's that comms tower, soldier?" He demanded.

"I have a military-purpose comms tower three klicks East, it's the closest we can find but the problem is that it's under traitor control." The Operator said. "Sending all the relevant data to you now, sir."

Tanner's HUD then relayed the information to him and he nodded appreciably. "Good job, now all of you will fortify this position and make sure no son of a bitch tries to take the Normandy for us. Lieutenant Commander Cole and I will get to the comms tower." He said as he took the Lancer from the dead Gear.

"Salvage whatever weapons and munitions that you can get, I don't want to end up fighting with my armor modules." He ordered while checking the status of his looted rifle. "This fight is only beginning gentlemen, let's not be the early ones out."

He then moved out with Cole and the two entered a nearby skyscraper for recon. "Hey Tanner." Cole called out as they walked the stairs.

"Yeah?" Tanner prompted without stopping.

"Why is this even happening, this whole damn attack reminds me of Encaledus." Cole said as the. "Ten full divisions revolted that day after the massacres, our own included before we were integrated into John's company."

"I dunno man but if I were to guess, these people believe that a bloody coup is the only way to salvation to the nation, which is bullshit." Tanner replied. "Even if they're soldiers who fought with us in the last thirty years, I'm not giving them any quarter." He affirmed.

"But…" Cole started to get hesitant.

"No buts, Cole." Tanner rebuked as he walked. "If we don't put this one down, then the only way to change administrations in the future is by violet force and I wouldn't want to be living in a world like that."

Cole then remained silent for the rest of the walk and they soon got to the roof. Cole then took out a magnifier and they began scanning the area to the comms tower. "We got two platoons of Gears, along with their complement of bots and two Wolverine IFVs." He said as he scanned. "And they're using up to date gear." He added. "We also have some weapons emplacement over at the objective, turning the entire zone below it a kill zone."

"So we're against a force with enough firepower to annihilate an entire battalion." Tanner concluded. "We won't even make it through the first layer of defences." He muttered in frustration. "We need more men."

Just as the two were thinking of a viable strategy and looking for opportunities, Cole saw something. "Wait a minute, I got something. In north due thirty degrees East, two klicks." He said.

Tanner then joined the magnifier and made a quiet whistle at the sight. "Well I'll be damned." He muttered. It was a temporary camp for captives created using the plaza of a Greek temple, Gears loyal to the administration were being locked up there en-masse.

"I'm counting sixty captured Gears, appears to be part of the 4th Jäger Division and 2nd Delaware Grenadiers." He slowly described. "I have eyes on their weapons stash too." He added as he glanced at Cole. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked with a smirk.

"Hell yeah, brother." The two then returned to the ground and stealthily approached the prisoners' camp. Tanner hid behind one of the temple's far left pillars while Cole hid on the roof after knocking out the sniper on top.

"In position." Cole reported as he requisitioned the sniper rifle from the unconscious sniper. He then set the rifle to stun and aimed at the guards.

"Execute." Tanner signalled as he knocked one of the guards with a kick to the guts and then another guard with an elbow to the face.

Cole then fired a shot at one of the guards, creating a weak electric field around him. It fried the guard's armor systems and knocked him out cold. The officer then fired another shot at the remaining guard behind Tanner, creating the same results. After that, he scanned the area for anymore guards and he could find none.

"All clear." He reported as he rappelled down the temple.

Tanner then moved to free the prisoners. One of the captive Gears, a member from the Jägers, looked at him. "You're from 141, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yeah." Tanner answered. "Where's the rest of your unit?" He asked as he ripped the containment chamber's control panel open so that he could hack the systems.

"We don't know, we got captured the moment we heard the broadcast." A Grenadier answered.

"Well lucky you, soldiers. You're officially with us until we find your unit." Cole said just as Tanner successfully hacked the containment chamber, allowing the containment field preventing access to deactivate.

"Grab your weapons, we got some fighting to do."

The Gears then gathered their weapons and one of the grenadiers, a lieutenant, approached Tanner. "So, what's the play sir?" He asked. "My boys and the Germans are ready for whatever meat grinder we're being thrown at." He said.

"Nice." Tanner replied as he activated a holomap with the comms tower on it. "Since we still don't have a clue on what the Hell is happening, our current objective will be to take this comms tower. We're gonna access channels of which we are restricted from using through there." He said.

"To do that…" Cole took over from Tanner's position. "We're going to split into two groups, Lieutenant Commander Tanner will lead most of us on a frontal assault while I will lead two of your best men to capture those weapons emplacements, we'll then turn their killbox into the spot where they kiss their ass goodbye with their lives." He explained.

"Sounds simple enough." The Lieutenant replied.

"That is, if we move quick and lethal enough." Tanner said as he turned towards the Gears, they were all looking at him and Cole. "I know how you are feeling now or might feel later." He started. "We're about to kill our own… Brothers-in-arms who have gone astray from their duties. They may have betrayed us but they were still comrades… So I get that you're in doubt." He paused as he looked at the men in front of him. "If anyone is in doubt over our next course of action, you can leave for the dockyards, we have a ship that's ready to depart once we complete our mission."

Tanner looked around, none of the Gears were showing signs of hesitance, they were all in the fight. "Good. We move out in five minutes!"

* * *

John stared at the window, Osprey dropships were flying everywhere and there was… fire over at the city outskirts, close to the military outpost nearby. "Something is not right." He muttered as he rushed to open his drawer. In it was his privately owned magnum pistol, a few extra rounds and a retired combat knife.

He then rushed towards Sunset's room, as he opened it, he could not find her anywhere. "Sunset? Where are you?!" He frantically called out as he looked for her downstairs. Just as he walked down the stairs, his home's front doors exploded in front him, which sent him flying. A few of the wooden fragments hit him in his shoulder and he gritted his teeth in pain in-flight.

The Commander crashed at the dining table and gritted his teeth in pain as he tried to identify the assaulters. One of the assaulters approached him and he was shocked to see that a Gear was his assaulter.

"What the…" He muttered in shock as the Gear shifted his aim at John. He looked for his pistol and found it a few meters away from him, near the couch… Too far for him to get it in time.

"Commander Shepard, in the name of this nation's salvation, you must…" He didn't finish his statement as he received a kick at the side of his head. He was sent flying by the kick and his neck had probably been broken.

The perpetrator then revealed herself to be Sunset and she darted for the other assaulters. As John tried to get back to his feet, Sunset fought against the Gears with her mere fist like a martial artist trained with the art to kill. She started by pushing away one of the Gears away while dodging a thrust from a Gear's nanoblade by merely stepping to the side. She then snapped the blade with her bare hands and used it to stab at the neck of the Gear, killing him.

She then pulled the blade out and threw it at the other Gear, who managed to deflect it just as blood from the dead Gear Sunset stabbed spilled like water from a broken high-pressure pipe. While the Gear was good enough to block the throw, he was not good enough to react to Sunset's next strike. She launched consecutive kicks that eventually overwhelmed the Gear's defensive posture and she leapt onto him just as he was stunned and snapped his neck in a deadly fashion.

John could not believe what he was seeing, he remembered that Valkyries were monsters in combat when he encountered them in the Jovian Wars but Sunset reminded her why exactly the COG feared them thirty years ago. He walked to pick his pistol up and he winced in pain as a glance to the shoulder reminded himself that he had been wounded.

He then turned to Sunset, who was bloodied by the fight and was standing motionlessly in front of the last Gear she killed. "Sunset?" He called out.

She ignored his call.

"Sunset." John called out again, raising his voice this time as he did so.

It was then the Commander heard a sound, the sound of a weapon preparing to discharge. "Sunset, watch out!" He pushed her away as he aimed at the source of the sound and pulled the trigger.

The bullet discharged from the pistol's chamber and penetrated into the surviving attacker's heart but he was too late. John could feel a hot bolt of energy burning through his left abdomen. He knelt in pain as he applied some pressure to the gun wound.

"John!" Sunset then screamed in what John thought was horror as she quickly stood up and held him by the shoulder.

"Let's get out of here…" The Commander weakly said, IGNORING sunset's out-of-character reaction as he slowly holstered his pistol and began walking out to his house's garden, all while leaning onto Sunset for support. "Damn… That antimatter bolt really hurts…" He complained. "Hurts lot more than a bullet..." He grumbled.

"Let's get you to a doctor!" Sunset instantly decided as she started to drag John towards the city. "There should be one at the city center!" She said.

"No… Take me to that outpost." He ordered and pointed at the burning military outpost at the outskirts. "Need to... Get in contact with my unit…" He explained through gritted teeth as the pain intensified as he was walking.

"But your wounds…" Sunset protested.

"My men will send a medic to my position, as well as some equipment for us to use…" John refuted. "Better to be able to fight despite being wounded than unable to fight despite being extremely healthy." He said.

Sunset looked doubtful at John's decision but complied nonetheless as she started semi-dragging the wounded Commander towards that outpost.

* * *

**Well... Hoped you like it. ****Thanks for reading!**

**And pleaseeeeeeee tell me what you think of this Chapter.  
**


End file.
